To Act Natural
by greyeyedrune
Summary: Kagome is a fiery but only moderately successful actress. Inuyasha has gotten into a tricky situation with a seven-year-old. So how will it turn out when our golden-eyed hero hires our raven-haired heroine for a very unique role?
1. And So They Meet

Important disclaimers!: This is the only time I'm going to do these. First, characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, blah blah blah. Second, and more important to me, I am almost positive that I stole this idea from a fanfic I read years ago. I plan to make the story my own, of course, but nonetheless I did get the concept elsewhere. I'm pretty sure. However, I've scanned the site several times trying to find it and I can't. If anyone knows the story I'm talking about, with the same general premise, let me know and I'd be happy to give credit where credit is due. With that in mind, read on!

*************************

Inuyasha had been on hold for twenty minutes, and if the composer of the peppy elevatorish song he was listening to happened to walk into the room at that moment, it was very possible that Inuyasha would have slit his throat.

"Customer service! How can I help you?"

Inuyasha started. "Yes! Right. Well, I bought a wallet from you about five years ago..."

"The warranty expires after three years, sir. Thank you for calling!"

"No, no, wait! The wallet is fine. It's great. That's not what I need help with."

"I'm not qualified to help with much else, sir."

"Ok, but hear me out. When I bought the wallet, there was a picture of a girl in it. She was kneeling and petting a golden retriever in front of an unnaturally blue and clear sky...green eyes, black hair, yellow dress... I assume she's a model who works for your company. Can I get her name?"

There was a pause. "Five years is a long time to harbor a crush, sir. Perhaps you should move on."

"I don't have a crush on her!"

"Clearly, sir."

"Can you give me her name or not?"

"No, sir, I'm not authorized to do that."

"If you were authorized, would you be able to?"

"Yes, sir. We keep extensive records. In fact, I've already looked her up. But the fact remains that I am NOT authorized, so tough luck. Sir."

"What's your name, then?"

"I'm not single, sir. And from the sound of your voice I'm a little old for you. How desperate are you, sir?"

"I'm not...!" Inuyasha stopped mid-sentence and changed his tone to something smoother. "Listen, I'm sure you get complaints often."

"All the time, sir."

"And that may be stopping you from advancing in this...career. So I'm sure you'd appreciate a little extra money, wouldn't you?"

"I do frequently have a compulsion to order products off of infomercials, sir."

"...Exactly. So, if you tell me your name, and the name of the model, I'd be willing to write you a fifty dollar check, and have it delivered to your workplace tomorrow. How does that sound?"

There was a pause. "Sixty nine ninety nine, or no deal."

"Are you serious?"

"I need more steak knives."

"Fine."

"My name is Agatha Furlington, and hers is Kagome Higurashi. Thank you for calling, sir."

*--*--*--*

Inuyasha stared up at the building in front of him. Thanks to the wonders of Google, he had tracked Kagome to this agency. She was an actress as well as a model, which was definitely good, though she'd only been in a few commercials and one walk-on role for a sitcom. Still. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Cool air-conditioning blasted in his face as he entered, and he blatantly ignored the montage of pop posters on the walls as he approached the secretary seated behind a desk straight ahead of him, twirling a phone cord through her fingers as she talked rapidly into the mouthpiece.

"I'm Inuyasha," he interrupted, momentarily startled when the stream of babble abruptly ceased. "I.. called to make an appointment with Kagome?"

"Office B," she replied, and pointed to the left. He started to thank her, but she was already ignoring him again. As he turned and walked down the hall she had indicated to the appropriate door, he wondered again whether this was such a good idea. But it was probably too late to back out now. He pushed it open.

And there she was, sitting behind a small desk, smiling brightly with her cherry lips as she turned to greet him, looking just as friendly and pretty as the picture in his wallet. He smiled involuntarily in response to her warmth.

"You must be Inuyasha," she said. "It's nice to meet you. Please have a seat." She waited as he did so, the sweet smile never leaving her face. "So what exactly is the role you have for me? Your message was somewhat vague." She leaned forward interestedly.

"I...I would like you to be my wife." The girl's dimples disappeared instantly, and she swiftly leaned back, donning an expression of confused disgust instead.

"Excuse me!?"

"No, no, you're misunderstanding. I just want you to act as my wife."

"Oh, so you're not being romantic, you're just being incredibly sketchy? Because aside from household chores, there's only one thing I can think of that a wife does, and I assure you I am NOT that kind of actress." Inuyasha hadn't even thought of that, but panicked as she started to leave.

"Wait! It's not like that. It's for my daughter...she's seven." Kagome did stop her attempt to escape momentarily, but she still didn't seem eager to work with him. She looked at him cautiously.

"Explain."

Well..." Inuyasha tried to decide how to say what he needed in the quickest and least stalkerish way possible, but when she began to turn impatiently, he just blurted out the truth. "I told her you were her mother, because she wanted to know why she didn't have one and your picture came with my wallet. I told her...that you were in Africa working in orphanages and that your work there was so important that you couldn't come back, only I didn't expect how attached she would get to the idea or that she would tell all her friends or start writing you letters as soon as she learned how to, but she did. And then yesterday she saw you walking into a store as we were driving and wanted to know why you were in the country and why you hadn't come to see us and I was caught off-guard and said the first thing that I could think of which was that you were planning on surprising her, and..." he trailed off, studying her raised eyebrow and incredulous expression.

"Let me get this straight," she said. "You've been lying to your daughter for...how long?"

"Five years." He figured he should get it all out there now.

"And you would like me to move in with you, and fake a family life with you indefinitely, in order to preserve that lie?"

"No, not indefinitely. Just for a month. One month, and then you can go back to Africa."

"Sure, one month and then I can leave her again and hurt her even more than she would have been hurt if you had told her the truth in the first place." Inuyasha was silent. When she saw he wasn't going to respond, she continued, "I'm sorry. I can see that you care about your daughter, but you're only going to break her heart. I refuse to be a part of it."

Inuyasha hung his head at her words, but grabbed her wrist as she tried to exit the room yet again. It was time for honesty and vulnerability; it was time for anything that would sway this girl in his favor. Inuyasha pictured his daughters face. Then he remembered the scratches that currently marred it.

"She's being bullied," he said, his voice low. "At school. And she won't talk to me about it. She says it's a 'girl thing' and that only you would understand, but she comes home with bruises and scrapes and things and the teachers don't know how she gets them; she won't tell anyone. Please..." he looked up at her through his bangs. "Please, I just want to know what's going on so that I can protect her. You're the only one who can help me." Kagome stared into his eyes for a few silent seconds, then sighed heavily, shook her wrist free of his hand and, after a moment of deliberation, sat resignedly back into her seat behind the desk.

"I have several questions first," she cautioned, seeing his hopeful face. "One, where is her mother, really?"

"Gone."

"Dead?"

"No, but gone."

Kagome cringed at his response, but looked away and continued before he could ask why, "Two, what sort of compensation are we talking about?"

"I've made up a contract," he replied, gracefully slipping it out of his inside coat pocket and sliding it towards her confidently. She unfolded it and scanned the pages before looking up at him in shock. "A thousand dollars a day?" she asked incredulously.

"As well as use of my home and everything in it, and a separate fund for anything you'd like to buy for the household, like food or decorative items. I want you to be comfortable."

She blinked her wide eyes rapidly, trying to process that. Finally, she went back to reading. "Well, this answers most of the rest of my questions. It's well-written. And...your terms seem agreeable," she said finally. "Except this one. I will promise not to tell her who I really am within the month you are employing me, but I won't promise to keep the secret forever. Cross it out, please. That's non-negotiable."

Inuyasha gritted his teeth and hesitated, but slashed through the clause and initialed the change obediently. His scowl vanished when she immediately signed and dated the contract before passing it back to him.

"Two more things," she started, cutting off his attempt at thanking her. "First, where are the letters?"

"Which?"

"The ones she wrote to me, of course. What kind of a mother would I be if I never read them?"

Inuyasha stared at her and slowly smiled. "I can have them sent to you."

"Within the hour, please. I assume it's a substantial amount of reading. Second, what store did she see me going into?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Well, obviously I've got to have a good reason for not coming home last night. I intend to buy her some kind of present. What store?"

He shook his head, amused by her suddenly clipped and professional attitude. "Borders."

"Alright. That's all. I will see you tomorrow evening, around seven. Until then."

She rose and extended her hand and he took it. "Goodbye, Kagome. And thank you."

****************************

A/N: So there you have it. My first attempt at a fanfic. I just randomly decided one day to write it...and that "one day" was two days ago, because apparently you have to wait a bit before trusts you. Who knew? Probably all of you. I'm slow. Anyway, I don't at this point know if I'll continue this at all, but let me know if you'd like me to! Ciao, friends.


	2. Moving In

Kagome threw her scant luggage out of the taxi before getting out, then cheerfully rubbed her heels in a flower pot and kicked each bag with glee. She had realized on the way over there that they looked much too new to have been carted across Africa with her. She smiled confidently at the driver as she paid him, hoping to convey that she was totally sane despite her actions, but the effort seemed ineffectual. He eyed her wrinkled bills cautiously, as though wondering whether whatever demons possessed her duffel bags could have lingered around her money as well. But after muttering a counter-curse, he consented to take them and sped away, leaving her alone on the doorstep of her "home".

Kagome hesitated. The house loomed huge and intimidating in front of her. It was gorgeous. She eyed it cautiously and appraisingly, trying to memorize every crack and color in case something about it came up in conversation, but there wasn't enough room in her brain to store many more tidbits of information. Her head had been swimming with details for the last day and a half. The daughter's name was Maeko. Favorite color: green. Favorite cereal: Cheerios. Favorite part of school: moving her teacher's things around the room throughout the day to make the poor man think he was absent-minded. Kagome had it all down. So, after one final mental drill, the faux mother straightened her back and marched determinedly up to the ostentatiously ornate oak door, fully prepared to stand her ground. But when she rang the door bell and hastily stepped back as the door was thrown open by a silver-haired child with hesitant and questioning eyes, every fact she had carefully memorized flew out of her head. Against those eyes, Kagome was suddenly helpless.

"Mommy?" Maeko asked. "Are you... my mommy?"

Kagome had no time to panic and think critically about the ideal response to such a question. All she could think was that she had never seen such a vulnerable expression. Driven by instinct, she immediately abandoned her carefully composed greeting and unceremoniously tackled the child in front of her, with an exuberant cry of, "Baby, I missed you!"

Hm. "Baby". She would have to remember the pet name as her established term of endearment. In acting, consistency was key. And anyway, the kid seemed to like it. She was already burrowing into Kagome's arms, squealing with delight and asking rapid-fire questions.

"Why didn't you come home yesterday? I saw you at a bookstore when I was riding in Daddy's car! What were you doing? Was it more important than me?" she questioned accusingly. Kagome smiled affectionately at her and ruffled her hair, completely confident and in character again because she had already anticipated this query and rehearsed her answer.

"I was buying you a present," she confessed happily, lifting Maeko above her head and grinning up at her for good measure.

The girl frowned down at her suspiciously in response. "Why didn't you buy me one in Africa?"

"I did!" Kagome protested. "Do you know what I got you?"

"What?"

"An elephant." The animal choice was a result of her checklists. Maeko's favorite animal: elephant. Check. Her second favorite animal was the sea sponge. Go figure.

"A real one? Where is he!?" Maeko's eyes widened as she whipped her head around, excitedly searching the yard for any giant grey animals she may have missed.

"They wouldn't let me bring him on the plane. Can you believe it? He was so disappointed."

"The plane people are meanies," Maeko pouted. Kagome smiled.

"But do you know what I got you instead?" Kagome gathered Maeko into her lap and presented a small, stuffed elephant from her newly dusty bag. She had found him in the children's section of Borders and had spent all day sewing a small green collar and hat for him. Maeko clutched the stuffed animal in wonder.

"Does my real elephant have a hat like this, too?"

"The very same. That way you'll recognize him when you see him. I told him to meet me here, but I think he might get lost."

"Nuh uh, he'll find us! Daddy, can he stay in my room?" Kagome started and twisted awkwardly half around to see Inuyasha leaning against a tasteful mint-green wall and staring at her intensely. She was suddenly embarrassed. It wasn't like her to forget her audience; how could she have not noticed that he was there? …And what was that look for? Maeko noticed it, too. "Oh that's right!" she cried guiltily, "Mommy and Daddy haven't said hi to each other yet! I'm sorry for hogging her, Daddy. You must be happy, too! Go on," she insisted, detangling herself from Kagome's grasp and stepping back expectantly. Both adults briefly glanced at her and then each other in slight panic, but Kagome recovered first and quickly put on a sultry smile to cover her sudden unease. His eyes flickered briefly to her mouth in response, then back to her gaze as he, perhaps unconsciously, took a step away from her like she were an animal about to pounce. If Kagome were on a set and allowed multiple takes, she would have sighed heavily in exasperation and demanded he run the scene on his own for a bit. This was clearly no way to treat a long absent wife. As it was, she had only one shot, so she quickly closed the new gap between them, hoping Maeko hadn't noticed it in the first place.

"I've missed you, Inuyasha," she murmured, cupping his face and brushing her lips against his chastely. His arm automatically gripped her waist, but he made no other response. She swallowed nervously, put off by his reluctance. Perhaps it would be best to defer this. "You look too skinny and pale," she improvised, hoping to sound scolding and wifeish. "Have you two had dinner yet, or do I get to make it for you myself? It's obvious you haven't been eating well enough without me."

"I want lasagna!" Maeko replied excitedly, clearly distracted. "Only if you eat some vegetables, too," Kagome responded, relieved. Then she mischievously offered to race them both to the kitchen on the count of three. Maybe, she thought, the exercise would justify her suddenly flushed cheeks. More importantly: maybe the diversion would give her some time to remember how to make a freaking lasagna. What kind of cheese went in those again? As she jogged behind Maeko, pretending both to be legitimately losing and to know where exactly the kitchen was, Kagome prayed fervently that despite the lack of adult females in the residence, Inuyasha kept a good supply of cookbooks.


	3. The First Night

Inuyasha remained in a state of shock by the doorway as the two giggling females rushed by. He was not prepared for this. How did one treat a wife? He'd never been in a relationship even remotely similar. Obviously there should be some sort of intimacy, however, and he hadn't done well with adequately expressing that so far. Furthermore, it was only now dawning on him that he knew nothing about this woman he had invited into his home. What if she had some as-of-yet-undiscovered and horribly obnoxious habit that made living with her for the next month excruciating? His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a shriek from the kitchen. My god, what if she was an axe-murderer? He knew nothing about her! This was clearly a terrible mistake.

He rushed into the kitchen to see his daughter and "wife" covered in tomato sauce and grinning goofily. Kagome was smoothing the red goop out of Maeko's hair as the girl turned sheepishly to her father and explained, "I tried to help, and..." Inuyasha laughed.

"Enough said. Why don't you just sit at the table and wait while Mommy makes it?"

"It's no problem," Kagome replied breezily. "She can help. It's about time she learns to cook anyway, and the only way to learn is to make mistakes. The only problem here, therefore, is that you managed to avoid getting hit by the sauce bomb yourself. How very left out you must feel!" With that, and with a saucy (pun fully intended) smile, she smeared a glob of tomato across his cheek and leaned in forward to whisper, "Where the heck do you keep your cookbooks! Tell me you have some, please. I haven't made lasagna since high school and I'm pretty sure I messed it up then, too. Help!"

Inuyasha looked at her incredulously for a second and then relaxed. She had no idea what to do, either. Somehow, it made him feel better as he leaned forward and whispered back, "Fourth cabinet from the left. Red and white cover. Good luck."

"What are you whispering?" Maeko asked suspiciously.

"Oh, just sweet nothings," Kagome answered with smile, as she nonchalantly strolled to the appropriate cupboard and selected the huge family cookbook with an air of confidence. He had to admire her poise. Maybe this would work out. And even if it didn't, it was too late to go back now. The way that Maeko's eyes glowed as they followed Kagome told him that. And the way that they burned with exuberant intensity whenever Kagome addressed her directly or casually ruffled her hair made him worry for the future. But before his train of thought made too many circles, Kagome roughly derailed it with a swift smack to the head with his wooden spoon.

"Oy, what was that for?"

"What did I tell you when we first got married? I'm not just going to cook for you while you lay around! Turn on the stove and start simmering the sauce with the spices. We're a family and we work together." Family. Weird. Inuyasha shook his head and obeyed, thinking that he almost believed her.

The lasagna, while not a feat of culinary genius, turned out quite passable. The sundaes they had for dessert were even better. The newly formed parent duo was having much less success with getting their child into bed, however. Every one of their attempts to trick her into bed were thwarted. They tried reading her stories, but she was insatiable and only asked for more, with no visible indicators of drowsiness at all. They tried watching a movie, but she kept a running commentary throughout. They tried building a pillow fort and having her lay down in it, but she only treated it as the home base of a fantastical mission. Currently, they were setting up the room with aroma therapy candles and playing a CD of nature sounds that Inuyasha had gotten for Christmas from a client, but the obstinate child only responded by grabbing her crayons and attempting to draw what she heard, banishing the couple to the blanket fort until she was done. Inuyasha had never seen her so stubborn.

"Seriously, how do you not have any sleepy time contingency plans? You've been raising her for the past seven years," Kagome hissed out of the side of her mouth.

"And she's slept like an angel for all seven. Even when she was a baby!" he hissed back. "Clearly this is somehow your fault."

"I don't see how," she scoffed.

"All I know is that before you showed up she didn't have such supernatural control of her eyelids, and tonight she's barely even blinking."

"I blame the sundaes and they were your idea."

"Maybe, but the addition of the chocolate sprinkles was all you."

"As if a few sprinkles sent her over the edge."

"The evidence is before you. With my mild a la mode vanilla plan she would have been in bed hours ago, but you just had to add the demon chocolate. It was likely cursed."

"Well if you are in the habit of keeping accursed toppings in your house then you should really have seen this coming. And now, because of your negligence, none of us will ever sleep again."

"No, just Maeko. You and I refrained from the stuff, so we can sleep in shifts."

"Dibs on sleeping the night shift!"

"No fair!"

"Mommy, Daddy, I'm done!" Maeko cried jubilently. They emerged from the fort somewhat awkwardly, as it had been built for a child. Inuyasha knocked over a chair on the way out, but everyone decided to ignore it, as Maeko was already proudly holding up her picture. It was of the three of them, holding hands and sporting big smiles. Inuyasha softened.

"I thought you were going to draw what you heard in the music?" he asked.

"I was but it was hard. And I wanted to draw us because we're all together finally. Do you like it?" Inuyasha looked at Kagome. She was looking teary-eyed. "We love it," she said.

"Maeko," Inuyasha said softly, "Why don't you want to go to bed?"

"Because!" she cried, "Because what if I wake up and Mommy's gone again?"

Inuyasha stood, flabbergasted, as Kagome rushed past him and scooped his daughter up in her arms, making crooning noises and rubbing small circles on her back.

"I promise I won't leave without telling you goodbye first, OK? I promise."

"Just in case," she sniffled, "Can I sleep with you and Daddy tonight?"

Kagome's eyes snapped up to look at Inuyasha's. He saw panic. Their contract had included separate sleeping arrangements, and he could understand why she would be hesitant to give up that clause.

"Honey, I don't think that's a good idea," he replied carefully.

"I promise I'll go to sleep right away, though!" ...Well, now, there was an incentive.

What ensued was a silent battle of nonverbal communication. He sent her a questioning look and she glared. He shrugged and she looked exasperated and nodded for him to say something. He shook his head and her panic returned. He motioned for her to say something instead and she rolled her eyes and returned to the original glaring technique. The communication was broken, however, when Maeko raised her head to look into Kagome's eyes, clasped both sides of her face and whispered, "Please?" Inuyasha, who was used to such techniques, smirked at the helpless look Kagome sent him and motioned for her to say something a second time, knowing that victory was near.

"Oh...alright," Kagome sighed. A cheering Maeko immediately rushed to her room to change her clothes before Kagome changed her mind. "But after she goes to sleep I am leaving the bed, and you'd better not try anything or I will force feed you both the demon chocolate sprinkles and then leave forever," she finished, once the girl was out of earshot. Inuyasha solemnly crossed his heart.


	4. To Bed At Last

Kagome stared into the mirror of Inuyasha's master bathroom. It was huge. She could see everything from her panicked eyes to her nervously shifting feet to the man waiting in the bed through the doorway behind her. Of course, there was also a girl waiting in the bed, and not terribly patiently, but Kagome was having difficulty focusing on her at that exact moment. She was about to get in bed with a man that she had not even known for 48 hours yet, and she was not the kind of girl who did that on a regular basis. The giant mirror she was staring into was a symbol of all the things she did not know about him. For example, when she had first met him, she had not at all pegged him as the type of man who would have a mirror the size of a wall in his bathroom. She hadn't actually known that such wall-mirrors existed at all, but if someone had informed her that they were real and had asked her whether she thought the well-dressed but hesitant and totally vulnerable man that came into her office with a crazy plan would have such a thing, she would certainly have guessed that he would not have one. Maybe a half-wall mirror, tops.

"Are you done brushing your teeth yet, Mommy?"

"Dental hygiene is important, baby!" Kagome shouted back after spitting delicately into the huge marble sink to her left. She then shoved her toothbrush back in her mouth and mindlessly moved it around for a few more precious seconds as she continued attempting to calm herself. Sure, he was a big mirror guy. But that wasn't exactly a bad thing. And none of the other ways that he had surprised her in the last few hours had been bad, either. She hadn't thought that he would be the type to suggest ice cream sundaes for dessert. She hadn't thought that he would willingly crawl into a blanket fort at his daughter's request. And she definitely hadn't thought he would look at his daughter like he would do anything for her. She glanced back to the mirror again and caught him looking at Maeko that way as he fluffed her pillows for her. Even if she didn't know him, she also didn't yet have reason to think that he was a bad guy. She spit again, put her toothbrush down, and changed her expression to one of excitement and joy. Then she ran to the bed and jumped on it, sending Maeko into a fit of giggles.

"Alright, little one!" she said. "It is officially time for bed." Maeko obediently cuddled into Kagome's arms and closed her eyes. Very soon, her breathing slowed and her muscles relaxed.

"Wow," Kagome whispered, staring incredulously at the girl's limp body. "She wasn't kidding. She really did fall asleep immediately." If Kagome had known how quickly it would happen, she wouldn't have been nervous about getting in the bed at all. She'd barely even been there for a full minute.

"She's always been like that," Inuyasha whispered back. "Hey, are you OK?"

"What do you mean?" Kagome responded, meeting his gaze. She had thought that her excited face had been convincing.

"Nobody cares about dental hygiene that much. And I know this wasn't in the contract. Are you OK?"

"Oh... yeah, I am now. Seeing her this content makes the breach of contract worth it." She stared down at the girl's serene face. "Honestly, I don't know how her real mother could ever have left her."

"Believe me. I don't know either. But I really don't want to talk about that right now. Do you want me to show you where your actual bed is?"

"Sure." Kagome tried to disentangle herself from the child, but Maeko only began to cling more tightly to her. "Inuyasha, can you help me?"

"I would, but I don't want to wake her."

"Well then what do we do?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll sleep in the other bed."

"Ok. Thanks, Inuyasha."

"No problem." Inuyasha bent to kiss Maeko's forehead, and she stirred sleepily. "Um... I take that back. There is a problem."

"What?"

"She grabbed my hair..." Kagome looked. Sure enough, Maeko had a death grip on a fistful of Inuyasha's hair as tight as her hold on Kagome. The two made eye contact. They stared at each other wordlessly, until finally Kagome broke the silence.

"How would you like a nice haircut?"

"Wh- are you kidding!" Inuyasha hissed.

"Of course I'm kidding. I don't have any scissors in arm's reach."

"That should not be the reason you're kidding!"

"Lie down. It's clear we're not going anywhere. We may as well get some rest."

Inuyasha hesitated, and then nodded, and the two carefully maneuvered their way under the blankets without disturbing Maeko or losing any hair or limbs. Inuyasha turned off the light.

"Good night, Kagome," he whispered through the darkness.

"Good night, Inuyasha."

Kagome lay awake a little longer, thinking over the day. But eventually her thoughts wound down, she relaxed, and she drifted into a sound slumber that lasted through the night.

A/N: Hey, all! I know I randomly disappeared for a couple of years there, but I'm back! At least for this chapter. I still don't know if I'll ever finish this, but tonight I thought of it and had the urge to write at least one chapter more. If you want me to go further, you'll have to review. And feel free to tell me what you like or what you want to see!


	5. New Developments

Inuyasha awoke to his daughter screaming. He jolted up and reached out to comfort her, smoothing her hair away from her face and wiping her tears.

"Hey, hey; what's wrong?" he asked, trying to wake up enough to understand what was the matter.

"She's gone! I knew if I went to sleep she would be gone in the morning; I knew it!"

As Inuyasha fumbled around for something to say, Kagome burst into the bedroom. "Baby! What's wrong? Are you hurt? Did you have a bad dream?" Before he knew it, the woman had swept Maeko into her lap in a bundle of blankets and held the child's face in her hands, surveying it worriedly. Maeko, who had fallen instantly silent upon Kagome's entrance, stared back with equal intensity. Inuyasha took the moment to study both of them. Kagome was wearing an apron and had her hair tied back. She had clearly been in the middle of making breakfast. Did the splattered batter on the side of her leg mean that she dropped an unfinished bowl of pancakes when she heard his daughter crying? His eyes wandered to the hand cupping Maeko's face and winced. It wasn't a bowl; it was a hot pan. She had a raised red burn running down her wrist. And yet the only expression on her face was concern. Was that just good acting? He switched his gaze to Maeko's face, and was startled by the vulnerability he saw there. It scared him a little.

"No," Maeko said finally, breaking the silence.

"No? No, you're not hurt? And you didn't have a bad dream? And nothing is wrong at all?" Kagome asked.

"Yup," Maeko responded, smiling sweetly.

For a second, Kagome looked like she wanted to protest, but eventually she just said, "Well... good. Hey, I made you some pancakes. Why don't you go start eating? You have school soon."

"Ok!" Maeko answered, cheerily skipping away. Inuyasha met Kagome's gaze.

"What was that really about?" she asked. The expression on her face was just as concerned as it had been a minute ago. Maybe it wasn't acting afterall.

"She woke up and you were gone," he replied simply.

"Oh, that poor girl," Kagome said, glancing at the doorway that Maeko had just skipped through. "I should go to her, then."

"Wait a second."

"No, she needs me! We can talk when she's at school." Inuyasha gently grabbed Kagome's wrist as she tried leave the bed, and she hissed in pain. He gave her a pointed look. "Right," she said sheepishly, looking at her burn. "I forgot."

"Come on." He led her to the bathroom, turned the faucet on cold and then held her wrist under the water. Once he was satisfed that the wound had been sufficiently cooled, he rummaged around in one of the drawers under the counter until he found a tube of burn ointment. He opened it, squeezed some onto his fingers and then gently smoothed it over her skin. It was only then that he finally looked up to see her expression.

She was blushing and biting her lip, her eyes downcast. For a full second and a half, Inuyasha found the look incredibly attractive on her. Then reason returned, he realized that she was most likely blushing out of embarassment, and he quickly dropped her hand, flustered, and took a step back. "Sorry," he mumbled, cursing himself as he felt an embarrassed blush color his own cheeks as well. She nodded, and then swiftly exited the room.

What was he doing? It had been a long time since he had cared that much about a little burn on anyone but Maeko. He had to remember that this was a business arrangement. He shook his head, took a cue from Kagome, and exited the room. When he got to the kitchen, he found the two females huddled together and giggling over a tower of strawberries they had constructed on the remains of Maeko's pancakes. There was no trace of a blush or any other negative thing on Kagome's face. She was a professional, he reminded himself.

They finished up breakfast quickly, then Inuyasha and Kagome dressed Maeko and got her ready for the day. They drove her to school together, and though it took some convincing to get her out of the car, they did eventually succeed and wave goodbye until she disappeared into the crowd of children.

As soon as they got back in the car, Kagome dropped her smile and turned to him with wild eyes.

"Hurry up! Drive back! We have so much to do!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I thought I had studied sufficiently, but I'm completely unprepared for this. She keeps referencing things that I'm supposed to know about, but I don't. Your parents, her toys, what she was like as a baby... Why are you not driving faster?"

"Because we are in a minefield of children right now!"

"A minefield? Are you serious?"

"They are very small and I can't always see them and if I hit one there will be an explosion of terrible, terrible karma. Also angry teachers. The teachers here can be really judgmental."

"I actually feel that judging a person for running over a child is pretty fair."

"Not if they come out of nowhere!"

"I really hope you aren't speaking from experience here."

"I have not run over a child, no. But I do have experience with the teachers being judgmental. I made one mistake, one time, and they have not let me live it down. They still glare at me sometimes, and I know it's because they're thinking about that one, totally understandable time."

"What did you do?"

"I ran over one of the scarecrow decorations they had up around Halloween."

"Did it come out of nowhere?"

"Shut up."

"I will if you drive!" Inuyasha obediently lurched the car forward, weaving his way out of the parking lot and back to the main road.

Once they got home, Kagome darted out of the car and into the house. He found her in Maeko's room, scribbling furiously in a notepad.

"Which one's Panda?" she asked. "It is the panda?"

"No, it's the alligator. The panda's name is Duck."

"Then what's the duck's name?"

"Toaster."

"What about the pig?"

"I'm not telling."

"If you don't, she'll know immediately that I'm a fraud and she'll never forgive you and when she grows up she'll sue you for emotional damages and she'll win and then you'll be homeless and all the teachers from her school will follow you around and judge you for the rest of your days!"

"Ok, ok, the pig's name is Inuyasha."

"I am committing that to memory as a thing to be amused by later, because this pig is the most unattractive stuffed animal I have ever seen, but I don't have time for a full-blown comparison at the moment. Don't worry, though. Later I will."

"Joy."

"Now your parents..."

Inuyasha spent the rest of the day answering incredibly specific and varied questions about his life, his family, and his daughter. He was impressed by Kagome's drive to do well at the task he had given her. She spent lunchtime preparing three different meals that Maeko would like because she thought that mothers should know how to cook for their families and she didn't have much experience with that. The dishes weren't first-class by any standard of measurement, but seeing how hard she worked on them and how determined she was to make them taste good, Inuyasha couldn't help but enjoy sampling them. Then she spent a few hours poring over the picture albums from Maeko's infancy. As the day went on, Inuyasha got more and more confident that he had made the right decision hiring this girl. With her willpower and sweet nature, he was sure that everything would turn out just fine.

At four, a car pulled into the driveway.

"That's probably Maeko's carpool," he told Kagome. "You want to go greet her?"

"Oh gosh, already? I was hoping to finish looking at these today. Oh well, it can't be helped." She ran off and opened the front door. Inuyasha listened happily to Maeko's excited cries as she came running up the steps. Then he heard Kagome gasp.

Acting quickly, he ran to the front hall and turned the corner to see what he was most hoping not to see. Kagome's scared eyes, and another giant bruise on Maeko's face.

A/N: Aw, guys, you left some really nice reviews. I was expecting maybe one or two, but I've gotten six so far! And they've all been so positive. So I wrote you another chapter as a thank you. I hope you like it, because I like you!


	6. The Secret Behind the Scars

Kagome looked nervously between Inuyasha and Maeko, trying to figure out which person to soothe first. Maeko was hurt, but she wasn't upset. She was just looking at Kagome happily, the way she always did. Inuyasha, on the other hand, looked like he was ready to punch a wall. Kagome stood and started rubbing small circles on his back with her palm. It seemed to calm him at least a little.

"Baby," Kagome said pleadingly, "What happened?"

Maeko looked at her father and then at the ground. "I can't say," she said. Kagome felt Inuyasha tense considerably under her hands. She also felt a slight rumble and knew that he was starting to growl.

"You can't tell your dad, you mean?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me?" Maeko, who was still looking at the ground, began to shift from side to side as she thought it over. Finally, she looked up.

"Ok, but you have to promise not to tell Daddy." Kagome looked at Inuyasha's expression, and had to stifle a gasp at the intensity and hurt she saw there. She composed herself quickly, though, and turned back to Maeko.

"Can you give me a minute alone with him really quickly?" she asked. Maeko nodded and went into the kitchen. Kagome turned to Inuyasha.

"Hey. It's going to be ok. I'll find out what's going on."

"But you have to tell me, Kagome. You have to. You don't know what it's been like not knowing. I've been going crazy. I tried to get her to switch schools, but she fought me on it like she thought something terrible was going to happen if she did. I don't know what's going on and she keeps getting hurt, and I keep feeling more and more helpless! If she tells you, you have to let me know. You have to!" By the end of the speech, Inuyasha had grabbed Kagome's shoulders and was gripping them like they were a lifeline. He was still speaking in a quiet voice so that Maeko wouldn't hear, but every word was packed with emotion. Kagome had never seen him look like this before, and she was touched by his level of concern.

"Of course I will tell you," she whispered back. "That's why I'm here. But you need to trust me. I'm getting a sense for Maeko's personality, and I can tell that she needs me to make this promise in order to feel comfortable sharing her secret. She's such an open person, so the reason for not telling you all these months must be serious. Once she does tell me, though, I swear to you that I will either get her to release me from the promise, or I will convince her to tell you herself. And even if neither of those things happen, I can at least tell you what to do about it. Or I can do it myself. Either way, this will end. You won't be helpless. You've done the right thing already. You got me." Inuyasha relaxed as she spoke to him, and when she finished, he slumped completely onto her chest, all of the anxiety leaving his body.

"Thank you," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. Kagome awkwardly patted him on the back in return and willed herself to stop blushing so furiously. She didn't know what was going on with her face lately. First this morning when he touched her hand a little, and now again as he was giving her a simple and friendly hug. Actually, this was the third time her face had gotten a little hot. She was fairly certain that she had also blushed when she awoke to find him lying next to her, one arm protectively flung over Maeko, and the other one in her hair. He looked so peaceful in sleep, and so carelessly attractive, that it made her heart pound a little. It continued to pound as she untangeld her hair from his hand and her body from Maeko's grip and fled to the kitchen to collect herself. But right now she didn't have time for that. She had more important things to think about. Gently, but firmly, she pushed Inuyasha away and cleared her throat, adding a confident nod for good measure.

"Leave it to me," she said. Then she called over her shoulder, "Maeko, I won't tell your father unless you give me permission to. So let's go out to ice cream, ok? We can get your favorite peanut butter blast!"

Maeko squealed in deight, and Kagome gave Inuyasha one last look of assurance before escourting the little girl out the door.

Twenty minutes later, they sat across from each other in a booth. Maeko was giddily slurping her way around the edge of an ice cream cone, trying to catch every last drip with her tongue, and Kagome was mindlessly spooning chocolate ice cream into her mouth while trying to figure out the best way to approach the subject. Finally, she decided to just be direct.

"Baby, tell me what happened." The girl immediately looked solemn. She began to fidget slightly and avoid eye contact.

"Well... there's this boy..."

"Is he bullying you?"

"What? No!"

"It's okay; you can tell me, baby. Is he hurting you and making you promise to keep it a secret? Is that why you won't explain?"

"No! Shippo would never! He's really nice and he's my friend and he's also handsome and the best boy out of all of them!"

"Wait..." Kagome tried to get her head around this new information. "Are you saying... do you have a crush on him?" Maeko's blush was answer enough. "But you're seven! That's a little young for a crush."

"You and Daddy met when you were seven!"

"Did we? I mean... well, yes, but that was a special case."

"This is a special case, too!"

"If he's hurting you, though..."

"No, he isn't! We run away in the middle of recess and play in the forest. It's so fun! But he's so fast, and I'm clumsy and I fall a lot, so..."

"How do the teachers not notice you're gone?'

"He's a fox demon, so he can make illusions. With his magic, all the teachers see is us talking in the corner of the playground. But really we're gone! He's so good at it!" Her eyes twinkled as she talked.

"So... you just didn't want to tell Inuyasha because..."

"Because crushes are things that you talk to your Mommy about! Not your Daddy. It's a girl thing." Kagome wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. This sweet, innocent little girl had no idea the torture she'd been putting her father through.

"Ok, Maeko," she said, leaning forward again. "I understand. And I want to hear all of the details. But you're very precious to your father and me, so I want you to promise me a couple of things first, and they're very important."

"What are they?"

"First, I want you to promise not to go in the forest without supervision anymore." Maeko opened her mouth to protest but Kagome continued. "I know that you think the grown-ups are there to ruin your fun, but they're really there to keep you safe. You need to stay where they can watch you. If you promise to do that, then you can invite Shippo over to our house and play with him there all you want. Or you can go over to his house. Or, if playing in the forest is really important, then your father and I can take you there on weekends or in the evenings. But we don't want you to get hurt anymore. Do you understand?"

Maeko hesitated, but ultimately said, "Yes."

"Then do you promise?"

"I promise."

"Ok. Then the second thing is this. One of us needs to tell Inuyasha."

"But it's so embarrassing! And he's a boy. He wouldn't understand. Why can't I just talk to you about it? You're my mommy!"

"Well... it's true that, as your mommy, I'm the one who gets to hear all the details and give you advice, but did you know that if a boy wants to marry you, he has to ask for your father's permission instead of mine? So that means that Inuyasha needs to get to know him, too."

"I hadn't thought of that... We do want to get married... " Kagome thought about interjecting on that point, but decided to leave that conversation to Inuyasha. "Ok," Maeko continued. "I'll do it."

"Wonderful. Now tell me everything. What's he like?"

Kagome spent the next half an hour listening to Maeko gush about Shippo's many fine qualities. She couldn't hlep but smile in response to her enthusiasm. But most of all, she couldn't wait to get back home to Inuyasha and calm his fears. Everything was going to be alright after all.

A/N: Six again today! Hooray! And five out of the six expressed concern for Maeko, which made me happy because it means you all care about the character. I hope your fears have been calmed with the new developments. Tell me what you think! Shippo will be making an appearence in the next episode, and he's got a father that you're all sure to recognize.

Last of all, saveme57 brought up a really good question. Is Inuyasha human or half-demon in this universe? Answer: I did not know until I was asked that question and had to think about it, but he is indeed half-demon. I just can't think of him any other way. So...this is just a world where that is normal. I'll weave an explanation as to why he hasn't been using his senses or acting very demony into the next , and after that he'll probably be demoning it up a little more so be excited.

Once again, review away and tell me what you liked or want to see more of! I really am doing this right now 100% because of your feedback, so keep it coming! Love you guys!


	7. Introductions and Advances

Inuyasha was very confused. He had spent all of yesterday evening pacing and worrying and dreading the news that his temporary wife and daughter would bring him, and when they finally did come home they were giggling and being frustratingly coy. It took him another half an hour to entice Maeko to confess to him, and once she did, he had trouble figuring out how exactly to respond. Of course he was relieved, especially when Kagome told him that Maeko had promised to stop running around in the woods unsupervised, but now he had a whole different kind of worry to occupy him. Why did Maeko have to like a boy? Who was this kid? He was obviously not good enough for her if he allowed her to get hurt all the time. That was the first rule in taking care of women: protect them from physical harm. So why did he have to go through this whole stupid charade of meeting the brat and playing nice when he knew already that he wouldn't approve? And why did he have to deal with this crush stuff at all? He wasn't expecting to have to meet boys for another decade. At least.

The doorbell rang and Inuyasha glared at it heatedly. Of course the brat would be early. Kagome, who had gone into the school to invite him over while Inuyasha sulked in the car, had said that he seemed overeager to be asked. That was just one more annoying trait of his.

Both Kagome and Maeko were already waiting behind the door and giving him expectant looks. Kagome's look said "We talked about this, and you'd better get your butt over here before I cut your ears off." Maeko was literally jumping up and down with impatience. He sighed and approached.

When he opened the door, he found the small fox demon stading on his porch in a tiny suit, holding a bouquet of flowers. "These are for Maeko," he declared, thrusting them forward.

"Give them to her yourself, brat."

"Inuyasha..." Kagome said warningly. He crossed his arms and grumbled in response. This whole thing was stupid.

"Inuyasha? So it is you!" Inuyasha turned to look at the owner of the voice, who was approaching the house behind Shippo.

"Miroku? Oh, for the love of... this kid is YOUR son?"

"Adopted, but yes. My pride and joy. Tell him what you rehearsed, Shippo."

"Hello, Mr. Inuyasha, sir!" Shippo started loudly. "I have come to humbugly request the hand of your daughter Maeko in marriage." When he finished, he bowed. Inuyahsa's eye twitched.

"That's 'humbly', son. But otherwise good job. I'm sure he'll say yes."

"Don't tell him what I'm going to say! And you're wrong; I am NOT going to just say yes to this. I'm going to say..." Kagome reached her arm around the door and hit him on the back of the head. He rubbed it and glared at her, but finished by grinding out a terse "...we'll see."

"Did that beautiful arm belong to Maeko's mother? I would love to meet the charming woman that birthed the girl my son fell in love with." Inuyasha felt a growl rising in his throat as Kagome peeked her head around the door.

"My goodness!" she said. "That's certainly flattering. I'm Kagome. It's very nice to meet you." Inuyasha looked at the woman beside him in horror. Why was she extending her hand to that cretin? Did she have to act so shy and cute? And... no... was that a blush? For some reason, even the possibility of Kagome blushing in this situation infuriated Inuyasha.

"I was right; you are lovely!" Miroku continued obliviously, taking Kagome's outstretched hand in both of his own. "Would you do me the honor of bearing my children?"

Nope. That was it. That was Inuyasha's limit. Without further ado, Inuyasha ripped Miroku's hands off of Kagome's and flung them back in his face, slamming the door on him AND the brat.

"Sorry, girls. This is not going to work out. I am the man of this house, and I get to determine appropriate company for the both of you, and those two are not appropriate company, so we are done with this evening. I don't want to hear any protests. My word on this is final! The end! Done!"

Twenty minutes later, Inuyasha sat sulkily watching Maeko and Shippo play in the garden while Kagome served him and Miroku lemonade. Stupid women and their wiles and their puppy faces and their crying.

"So!" Miroku said cheerfully. "In all seriousness, it really is good to see you again. It's been, what, ten years?"

"Best ten years of my life," Inuyasha grumbled.

"That's cold. We were best friends in college. And then you graduated and dropped off the face of the earth. Now I find out that you're married and have a kid? You didn't even invite me to the wedding!" Inuyasha suddenly felt guilty. It was true that he and Miroku used to be close. The real reason he broke contact was because his ex, Maeko's real mother, suddenly reappeared in his life and took over. They were together for two years. It wasn't until she panicked and left that Inuyasha realized how many interests and relationships he had given up for her. But then, seven months later, just as he was starting to get over her and rebuild, she dropped Maeko at his door. Now all of his time was devoted to her, and he never got around to getting back in touch with anyone else.

"Sorry..." he mumbled sheepishly.

"We eloped," Kagome interjected suddenly. "We didn't invite anyone. So don't be hurt." Inuyasha rolled his eyes a little at Kagome's need to make people feel better, but smiled a little, too. He did appreciate the gesture.

"Well, I can see why. I wouldn't want to wait to marry a girl as pretty as you, either. I didn't actually get an answer to my question earlier..."

"The answer is no!" Inuyasha snarled. "She's my wife."

"Well, you're not appreciating her as much as you should! I haven't even seen you kiss her once."

"You've been here for like half an hour!"

"If she were my wife, I'd be kissing her every five minutes. At least."

"Well... I do!" Inuyasha argued, not pausing to question his strange need to convince Miroku that his relationship was valid. "Just not in front of people usually! But watch this!" He stood and grabbed Kagome around the waist, kissing her full on the mouth. Her lips were soft, and lightly warmed by the sunshine. The taste of lemonade lingered. He was at risk of getting lost in it when he heard his daughter cry jubilently, "Shippo! Let's kiss like Mommy and Daddy are kissing!"

"Oh no you don't!" he warned, releasing Kagome and running immediately to his misguided child. "Maeko. Brat. Listen to me right now. Kissing is only for when you love someone. Got it?"

"But I do love Shippo!"

"No, I mean, it's for when you're married!"

"But we're gonna get married."

"No, you have to BE married. And also over 30."

"Oh... So kissing is a really serious thing?" Maeko asked, forehead scrunched in concern as she listened to this important information.

"Yes! Excactly. Kissing is serious. You don't just do it because you feel like it; it has to have meaning." Inuyasha paused at his own words. In normal life, that was actually something that he believed. But if that was true, then was his arrangement with Kagome possibly going too far? Should he not have kissed her just now? Was she mad? He turned nervously to look at her. She was laughing attractively at something Miroku said and blushing. Furiously. Was the blush because of Miroku's words, or his kiss? Inuyasha realized suddenly that it mattered to him. It mattered very much.

"Just don't kiss, ok?" he said to the children as he left them and began to inch closer to the humans conversing. He didn't use his demon senses often; most of the time he actively suppressed them. His ex had found them "creepy", and he had gotten in the habit of shutting them off for her. But right now he really wanted to hear what was being said.

"You two seem like a cute couple."

"Oh, thank you. He's a wonderful man." Inuyasha felt a little smug, until she continued with, "And are you married?" Why did she care?

"No. Never have been. Shippo was abandoned as a baby at my monestary, so I took him in. I thought maybe when other women saw me being a good father, they'd want to bear my children themselves. Is it working?"

"You do seem to be a very caring father." Was she flirting? Or just being nice? He had to know. He sniffed experimentally for the first time in years, trying to evaluate her scent. There was a hint of arousal there, but once again he was unsure whether it was inspired by him or the monk. He forgot about that quickly, though, when the full flavor of her scent hit him for the first time. It was so fresh and sweet, like raspberries in the rain. He wondered why he hadn't tried it before.

The conversation continued. "Why is that?"

"Well you clearly want him to be happy. You bought him a suit and flowers for today, and helped him rehearse a speech for the father of the girl he likes."

"Well, of course I would encourage him. He's pursuing love! That's the greatest thing a man can pursue. Once you find a beautiful girl you should expend any effort to pursue her, regardless of hinderences like age or... marital status." Inuyasha growled. It was clearly time to intervene.

"Oy! Stop hitting on my wife!" he commanded. Upon hearing his voice and seeing him approach, Kagome suddenly seemed to get very busy cleaning up the lemonade glasses. Intregued, Inuyasha took another experimental sniff, and found her scent affected by his arrival. It was muskier, deeper, and he was gratified to notice that her cheeks were red again. So she was reacting to him afterall. Inuyasha found that this pleased him very much.

A/N: Hey all. I'm posting a little early tonight. Also, this chapter is officially dedicated to PinkIcePrincess23, InTheShadowsOfHeros, and TheRealInuyasha. You three have reviewed every chapter I've posted this week, and I greatly appreciate the positivity and praise. So I tried to mix in some romance for Pink, some cute kid moments for Shadow, and some demonness for Inu. Hope you liked it! :)


	8. Subtle Manipulations

Kagome picked at the meal she had prepared for their guests as they all sat around the grand dining room table conversing. The evening had been a little odd. Miroku continued to make suggestive comments to her, Maeko continued to get googly-eyed whenever the boy of her affection so much as sneezed, and Shippo continued to trying to impress the father of his "fiancee" with such manly feats as climbing a tree really quickly, being exceptionally polite and formal, and making (fairly good) foxfire impressions of everyone in the vicinity. And then there was Inuyasha. He had been following her around for hours, watching her intently, growling at Miroku, and she thought he had even sniffed her a few times. She understood that he was trying to go for the whole overprotective husband thing, but it was a bit much. Still, she had to be impressed with his acting. It had really improved. They'd come so far from that first stiff kiss of greeting. The way he kissed her now, she almost believed it herself.

"Oi, brat, pass the noodles."

"Certainly, Mr. Inuyasha, sir! It would be my greatest pleasure to assist you!"

"I keep telling you; you can talk like that all you want, but it won't make me change my mind about agreeing to let my seven-year-old get married."

"But Daddy! He's perfect!"

"No Maeko, your mother is perfect."

"Miroku, I swear I will use these noodles to choke you if you hit on my wife one more time!"

"I'm just going to go get dessert," Kagome said, politely excusing herself from the table. She needed a break from the chaos.

Once in the kitchen, she took the simple lemon cake she had made out of the fridge and started to take the saran wrap off.

"Kagome," a voice whispered, much too close to her ear. She screamed and the intruder covered her mouth. Acting on instinct, she flung the cake into the air, sharply elbowed the man behind her. Then she spun, deftly caught the cake, and... saw Miroku coughing and wheezing on the ground. "Oh... sorry."

"Kagome? Are you ok?" Inuyasha called from the dining room.

"Tell him... you're fine," gasped Miroku.

"I'm fine! I... saw a spider!"

"I heard a big crash, though."

"Yeah, I hit it with the...oven."

"You can lift the oven?"

"Well, not very well! That's why it crashed!"

"Ok, well... as long as you're fine!"

"Yup! Everything is super great in here!" Kagome gave Miroku a puzzled look as she helped him up off of the floor. Taking a cue from the finger he held up to his lips, she followed him outside.

"What's up; you're freaking me out!"

"Sorry about startling you. I should have known that one so beautiful would also be so fierce. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"I... used to take karate." Kagome was lying more and more easily now. She tried to file that new tidbit away, too. There was so much backstory to keep track of.

"Ah. Well the reason I called you out here is to ask whether it would be alright if Shippo stayed the night. I have a monk's retreat tomorrow and my baby-sitter canceled last minute. I'm in a bit of a bind."

"Of course it would be. Why are you even asking, much less so secretively?"

"Well, you see how Inuyasha feels about the pair, and you know how he can be. I don't want him to throw a tantrum in front of Shippo."

"Got it. Don't worry. I'll take care of it. Just, whatever I do, go along with it." She winked, then immediately regretted it when Miroku's face lit up and and he winked back in the cheesiest way possible. This guy was ridiculous.

They went back to the kitchen and Kagome returned to her cake as Miroku returned to the dining room. As she put a couple final touches on it, she heard Inuyasha say suspiciously, "You were in the bathroom an awfully long time."

"Who's ready for cake?" she asked, brandishing the dessert proudly as she approached the table. Everyone eagerly took a slice as she took a seat and tried to figure out how best to approach the task Miroku had given her. She looked to him as he was about to take the first bite of his cake and made eye contact. Then she subtly shook her head. He lowered the fork and she smiled and turned to her "husband", who was already gobbling a second piece.

"So, Inuyasha," she started, placing a small canister on the table. "Remember these?"

"Is that...?"

"Yes. It's the demon chocolate."

"Put that away right now, woman!"

"I don't know. I think we were being really superstitious before. I actually put some on top of the cake just now, and I'm sure it will be fine."

"You what!?" Inuyasha looked in horror at the mostly consumed cake before him, then at his daughter's. She was almost half done. "What have you done?"

"You're being silly. Miroku, you're a monk, right? So you can sense negative demonic energy? Could you tell Inuyasha that the sprinkles are fine?" Her tone was casual, but she was shaking her head again. Inuyasha, whose gaze of horror was now aimed at the cake itself, didn't see.

"Oh! Well, sure! Let me just see them now and... oh my. Good heavens. This is very bad."

"What? What's bad?" Inuyasha's panicked eyes landed on Miroku. "How do we purge the evil?"

"I'm afraid these are very infested indeed. I'll have to purify your whole house now. Top to bottom."

"And we don't want to spread this evil to the outside world, do we?" Kagome pressed. "How long do you think it will be before we can leave the house after you've put the purification into process?"

"Well, for anyone who ate the cake, I would say at least another twelve hours or so."

"Then there's nothing to be done about it. Who ate the cake? Everyone but Miroku and I? Well then, Miroku, you can leave after the purification, but I'm afraid Shippo will have to stay the night here. For the good of humanity."

"It pains me, but, for the good of humanity, I will allow it."

"Great! Shall I clear the plates, then?" Kagome quickly picked up everyone's partially finished food, and made it almost all the way out of the room before she heard Inuyasha mutter, "Wait a minute..." She quickened her pace, but the next thing she knew he had cornered her by the sink.

"Kagome. We have to talk."

"Inuyasha, I'm sorry but there's nothing we can do! Think of the havoc that would ensue if the demon chocolate were unleashed upon the world!"

"Well, right, of course there's nothing we can do about that. That's not what I want to talk about."

"Oh..." Kagome quietly breathed a sigh of relief. "Then what's up?"

"In Maeko's room?"

"Not on your life."

"They're seven! What do you think is going to happen?"

"They were talking about kissing earlier! I don't want them alone together for one second!"

"Ok, then the guest room."

"He'll just sneak in to her room. No."

"Ok, then what? Lock them both in closets on separate edges of the house?"

"That could work..."

"Inuyasha!"

"What?"

"You're being ridiculous. How about if they both just sleep in the master bedroom where you can watch them?"

"That could work... But then, wouldn't you have to sleep there, too? In bed with me? To avoid suspicion?" Kagome paused and studied Inuyasha's face. Was he setting her up? She wasn't one to call a kettle black if he was, but was that something that he wanted? Sleeping next to her for one more night? And, more importantly, was it something that she wanted? She didn't distrust him anymore, but it was still a strange situation. Still, the idea was not altogether unappealing.

"Yeah, I guess I would," she replied casually.

It was going to be an interesting night.


	9. Feelings Stir

Inuyasha followed Kagome back to the dining room, oddly happy with this new turn of events. Sure, the brat was still out to steal his daughter and would now get even more time with her, but he also got to spend more time with Kagome. In bed. He didn't realize until Kagome came, but sleeping by himself in that big bed was really lonely. There was too much space.

When the got to the table, Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Miroku was making a big show of chanting and waving his arms around to purify the house. He looked ridiculous. But as long as he would free them all from the curse of the demon chocolate, Inuyasha was happy. He sat in a chair to watch the show, while Kagome began to hustle the children toward the bathroom to get ready for bed. Twenty minutes later, Miroku finished the routine with a bunny hop and a spinning kick. He bowed to Inuyasha's applause.

"Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all night."

"Oh no you won't. I'm not letting you anywhere near my sleeping wife."

"That's cold. I never hindered you in your pursuit of love."

"I never tried to pursue any loves that you were married to!"

"I've never been married. Actually, I can't believe that you are. I was certain I would beat you to the altar. But I can understand that you would want to get married as soon as you met such an exquisitely gorgeous creature."

"Ok, ok. Enough of that."

"No, I'm being serious. Aside from her beauty, her grace, her nice round bottom..."

"I said enough!"

"Let me finish! Aside from all that, I really do think she complements you well."

Inuyasha paused and tilted his head, curious. "What do you mean?"

"Well, she clearly understands you and knows how to handle you."

"Handle me?"

"I mean... nothing. I just mean that I think you chose well. And I'm glad you're happy."

"Oh." Inuyasha smiled. "Well, thanks. And, hey, you'll be happy, too, one day. If you can ever stop groping the women you fancy. And if you can ever start fancying the women that are available."

"What can I say? The heart wants what it wants. When I see a beautiful woman, I simply can't control myself."

"And that's why you can't stay. Good night, Miroku. We'll drop Shippo off at school tomorrow."

"Thank you. And good night. I'm sure we'll meet again."

After waving goodbye from the doorway, Inuyasha went to his bedroom to see how much progress Kagome had made with getting the kids into bed. He entered the room to see the three of them cuddling in a pile of blankets on the floor. He leaned against the doorframe to take in the picture. Maeko looked so happy. Kagome looked so beautiful and kind. The brat still looked like a brat, but there was nothing he could do about that.

"So Mommy," Maeko was saying, "What do you think of Shippo? Can we get married?"

Inuyasha scowled, but didn't interject. He wanted to see how Kagome would respond.

"Well," she started. "You're a bit young still."

"But you and Daddy were young!"

"Yes, it's true that we were young when we met, but it was a long time before we loved each other. When we were your age, we weren't old enough or mature enough to understand what love really is."

"What is it, then?"

"What is love? Baby, don't hurt me."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Your knee was digging into my side, but it's fine now. Love... love is when you spend a lot of time with a person and you still can't get enough of them. It's when you've seen them at their worst and you still accept them. It's when you put their happiness above your own. It's when you reach a peace about your relationship and don't second-guess it anymore. It's when you can't imagine your life without that person. And there's so much more to it than even that."

"How do I know if I'm feeling love, then?"

"You'll know. And once you do, you'll understand the difference between that feeling and what you're feeling now. But we can talk about this more later. It's time for you two to get some sleep."

She stood up and was about to turn towards the door. For some reason that he didn't question at first, Inuyasha slipped out before she saw him. Her words had affected him. He needed a little bit of time to think. Stealthily, he made his way to the back garden and sat down on an ornately carved concrete bench by the roses. He had been in love before, with Maeko's mother, and he remembered the feeling. It was only just occurring to him now, but there were some similarities between the way he felt then, for her, and the way he felt now, for Kagome. The emotions that she stirred in him were startlingly deep for how long they had known each other. ...Was it possible? He sat for a while, reminiscing, studying his heart, and thinking about the future.

When he finally snapped himself out of his reverie and returned, the room was pitch black, but he could see fine. He looked to Kagome. She was asleep, the kids were asleep, and everything was quiet. Inuyasha was almost afraid to ruin it. He climbed under the covers and lay very still, just observing her form sprawled across the bed, her hair fanning around the pillow and her sweet, cherry mouth open and breathing softly. In a rare moment of indulgence, he took a deep breath and allowed her full, beautiful scent to wash over him. When it did, he felt giddy, excited, and peaceful all at the same time. Before he knew what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. She stirred, but did not awaken, and there was no change in her scent. Encouraged, Inuyasha snuggled happily down into the blankets and fell asleep almost instantly. It was the deepest sleep he had had in a long time.

When he awoke, he felt cold, and somehow empty. He opened his eyes to see that the bed beside him was bare. She was gone. He remembered a few days ago when Maeko woke up to see Kagome gone and thought he could understand why it upset her so much. The difference was that he knew Kagome was still there somewhere. He threw the covers off and made a dash for the door, eager to be near her.

He found her in the kitchen, once again wearing an apron with her hair tied back and making pancakes. And once again she had some batter on her cheek. He smiled and approached her cautiously.

"Kagome?"

"Hey, you're up! Finally. I've already taken Maeko and Shippo to school. I was just making some breakfast for you."

"Thank you," Inuyasha responded, still moving gradually closer. "Hey, Kagome?"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember last night when you were telling the kids about love?"

"Yes. Why?"

He reached her and stood before her awkwardly, suddenly very nervous. "I think... Um, I think..." Suddenly, he grabbed her and pulled her to his chest like he had done the night before. Only this time she was awake. And this time he had something he had to say. "Kagome, I think I love you."

A/N: Hmmm... what will she say? Thanks to everyone who got excited that I came back. It makes me happy. I don't know where the inspiration came from this week, but I've written out drafts for at least another couple chapters after this one, which I'll be around for a while. No need to fear that I will abandon you in the near future. Still no promises about the slightly later on future, though. But if you do want me to keep going, you should definitely review! Love you all!


	10. Her Answer

Kagome was startled, though not entirely opposed, when Inuyasha crushed her into a hug. When she heard what he said, however, she shoved him away immediately.

"You what!?"

"I said... I think I love you."

"How dare you?" Kagome was instantly furious. Inuyasha's ears flattened to his head when he heard her tone. She would have thought it was cute if she weren't so upset.

"Wh- what do you mean?"

"You love me!?" she exploded. "You don't even know me. Inuyasha, I am acting here. Did you forget? So if you love anything, it's not me. It's the projection of your wife that I'm portraying."

"That's not true at all!"

"Oh yeah?" Kagome countered, her anger level only rising, "I know everything about your parents, Inuyasha, but do you know anything about mine? What are their names?"

"I... I don't know."

"And why did I start acting? Where did I grow up? Did I go to college?"

"...I don't know those things either. But, Kagome..."

"What am I afraid of? What am I passionate about? How do you comfort me when I'm crying? You don't know anything!" Inuyasha stared at the ground silently, clearly wrestling with her words. She sighed in exasperation. "Do you even know if I'm single?"

Inuyasha's head snapped up. "You are, aren't you?"

"It's none of your business." Kagome angrily flipped the last pancake onto a plate, squirted some syrup on it and shoved it at him. "Here's your breakfast." She then ripped off her apron and threw it on the counter before marching off.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"To shower!" she shouted over her shoulder, not even slowing her escape. "And then I'm going grocery shopping. Enjoy your pancakes!" As she finished speaking, Kagome childishly slammed the door to the bathroom and turned around to lean against it. In doing so, she came face to face with her full-body reflection in the wall-length mirror in front of her. She made eye contact with herself, then lowered her eyes quickly, somehow feeling embarrassed.

She shouldn't have slammed the door. He shouldn't have said something so stupid, but she still shouldn't have slammed the door. And yelled. And thrown a tantrum. She absolutely stood by what she told him, but she probably could have said it a little more gently. She sighed as she undressed and turned the shower on.

The hot water coursed over her and took the rest of the edge off of her anger. Instead of feeling better, though, she just felt depleted.

After she got dressed, she headed to the car. She somewhat reluctantly looked around for Inuyasha on the way to see how he was reacting to her outburst, but she couldn't find him anywhere. It was probably for the best. She would apologize and express her stance a little more temperately when she got home.

When she got to the key hook, though, she found it empty. Had she left it in her purse? Or had Inuyasha left them in his pocket? Or... she opened the door to the garage and checked. Yup. There was Inuyasha sitting stubbornly in the driver's seat waiting for her.

She sighed and approached him. "Hey."

"I'm driving you to the grocery store."

"I can see that. Why, though? Do you think I'll make a break for it?"

"Maybe."

"I won't."

"That's exactly what someone who was planning on making a break for it would say."

"I'm telling you, I'm not. And if I were, I wouldn't take this car. I would take the Ferrari."

"Not Tessaiga!"

"Who would you be more upset about losing? Me, or the car?"

"You."

"That was fast."

"It was an easy question."

"I'm sorry I asked..." She hesitated, but eventually sighed, crossed around to the passenger side and slipped in. He started the car.

"Did you even eat the pancakes? I worked hard on those."

"Yes, I did. They were delicious."

"They were not. I put in too much salt."

"It really enhanced the flavor."

"Please."

"How did you know that I was craving salt this morning? You really are amazing."

"Be serious!"

"I am being serious. You made them, so they were delicious."

"Nope. That's enough. Stop it."

"What?"

"Don't talk to me like that when we're alone. I want to keep our relationship professional."

"Well, I don't."

Kagome sighed for the third time in about twenty minutes and looked out the window. They were almost there. The rest of the ride, as well as the walk into the store, was silent and a little uncomfortable. Kagome struggled with what to say. He clearly wasn't going to give up easily and that was frustrating. How could she get him to stop without it ruining their professional relationship or the friendship that they were developing? Because she did want to be his friend when all this was over. He was a great man. He just wasn't one she wanted to get romantically involved with if he thought love happened so quickly. So what to say?

Then she turned a corner and stopped dead in her tracks. All thoughts of what to say to Inuyasha flew out of her head.

Because there he was. There was the reason she had reacted so strongly to Inuyasha's confession. There was the man who made her feel like you should never say "I love you" too quickly. He was standing right in front of her examining a couple radishes.

Kouga.

A/N: Sorry guys! It's not going to be that easy. Kagome's a tough one to crack. You'll start to learn more about her as Inuyasha does. But what did you think of this chapter? Were you surprised? Do you think she's being fair? I would love feedback. Also, I'd like to make a special dedication/shout-out to and avengeme (formerly saveme57) for reading this months ago and coming back to read more now. I appreciate you guys. (I also very much appreciate PinkIcePrincess23, but she already got a dedication.) Until next chapter (Spoilers: I'll probably post it tomorrow)! Love you all!


	11. The Encounter

A/N: Sooo... funny story. I don't know if you guys have noticed, but I've been trying to switch back and forth between Kagome's and Inuyasha's POV every other chapter so that both of their minds get equally explored, and somehow in writing a draft of this chapter ahead of time I got mixed up and accidentally put two chapters from Kagome's POV next to each other. Totally don't feel like redoing it, so you'll just have to stay in her head for a little bit longer and see how Inu feels about everything next chapter. I'll post it soon. I promise. Like tomorrow. Now onward with the dramatic encounter with Kouga!

He looked up. Right at her.

"Hey, Kouga." Kagome said, looking him right in the eyes and trying to sound as casual as she possibly could. The effort paid off in that her voice remained steady and sure, but she wasn't quite able to eliminate all of the intensity the simple greeting held.

"Kagome? Who's this?" Inuyasha tried to step protectively in front of her, but she brushed him aside.

"The better question is, who is that, Kagome?" Kouga shot back, putting down the turnips and approaching her. The half demon behind her growled in response.

"This is my employer," Kagome responded, still looking at Kouga and responding only to him.

"You got a new job? Is that why I never see you around the Pack anymore?"

"What's the Pack?" Inuyasha interjected again.

"No. You don't see me because I quit. I'm not doing that anymore."

"Not doing what?"

"Is it because of me? Because of... what happened?"

"What happened?"

"No, it's because of me. I needed to get out of it. Though what happened didn't exactly make me want to stay."

"Seriously, what happened? I'm going to keep asking until someone acknowledges me."

"I told you. I'm sorry about that."

"Sorry about what?"

"Are you with her now?"

"With who?"

"Of course not. You haven't given me an answer."

"An answer to what?"

"The answer is no."

"What was the question?"

"The answer can't be no."

"Why not?"

"Yes, it can. Because it's my decision. You lost any and all right to contribute to my decision when you betrayed me."

"How did he betray you? Was it by not listening to you and pretending you didn't exist when you were standing right there and attempting to be included in the conversation? Because I can understand how that would be hurtful."

"The answer can't be no because I love you."

"You... what?"

"I don't believe you."

"You... love... her?"

"Then I'll make you believe it!" Two things happened very quickly. Kouga made a grab for Kagome's arm and Inuyasha darted forward, grabbed his neck, and slammed him back into the stand of vegetables behind him. Kouga hung in his grip, bewildered, as lettuce heads tumbled around his feet.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shrieked, finally acknowledging him. "Put him down."

"He was going to touch you," Inuyasha growled menacingly.

"He would never hurt me. Physically."

"But still!"

"No 'but's! Go get some flour, ok? I'm making pie later."

"No. I'm not leaving you alone with him!"

"It doesn't concern you." Though it was true, and though this was her personal life that had nothing to do with her professional interactions with an employer, Kagome couldn't help but feel guilty when she saw the hurt in Inuyasha's eyes. He slowly lowered Kouga back to the ground. Then he stood still for a moment as if completely unsure of himself. Finally, he walked away. Kagome felt even worse when she saw the way his shoulders sagged and his ears drooped, but this wasn't a part of her life she felt proud of and particularly wanted him to see. After everything she had said this morning, she didn't want his first exposure to her real life to be her argument in a grocery store with Kouga. Still, she had been harsh. She had almost decided to follow him when Kouga grabbed her arm again, this time successfully.

"He's not really just your employer, is he?"

"I don't know what he is. Our relationship is a bit atypical."

"Well, watch out for him, alright? I don't want you to get hurt."

"This coming from you?"

"Kagome, I'm sorry! I am! How many times do I have to say it? Her scent..."

"I don't want to hear this again."

"Ok. Alright. Not now. But... here. This is what I wanted to give you before Tackley McQuestions over there pushed me into a cart of vegetables." He pressed a necklace into her hand. It had a softly glowing white orb on the end of it. Kagome's eyes softened.

"The Shikon. Thank you, Kouga. You don't know what this means. Well, actually, I guess you do. So thank you even more."

"You see? I do care." Kagome looked at him, bit her lip and looked down, then nervously looked up again. She was full of indecision.

"I'll tell you what. I'm a bit booked and short on privacy this month. But as soon as it's next month... we'll talk. Alright? But that's all I'm promising."

Kouga hesitated, but then nodded. "Ok. I will wait."

"Good. Now I have a pissed-off hanyou to console."

"I'm serious; please be careful around him."

"I'll be fine. Goodbye, Kouga."

"Goodbye..."

As Kagome walked away toward the aisle with the flour, she felt Kouga's eyes boring into her. She felt it, but she didn't look back.


	12. A New Direction

Inuyasha looked mournfully at all the different kinds of flour. What kind went into a pie? White? Wheat? Bleached? Unbleached? Enriched? Why were there so many different kinds of flour? He accidentally dropped one in his effort to find some reference to pie on the package and was immediately greeted with a cloud of white powder covering his face and hair, as well as much of the aisle. He tried to blink it away and his eyes watered. The feeling of it was somehow so depressing that he sank to the ground.

Kagome was right. He didn't know her at all. He had never felt like more of an outsider than he did listening to her talk to someone who did know her and the entire context of her life. Every sentence was a reference to something that he didn't understand. And she had completely ignored him. She had called him her employer. She had sided with the wolf that he was only trying to defend her from. She had asked him to leave. She had told him that it was none of his concern.

And it wasn't. That was the worst part. He had invited her into his home as a business arrangement, and neither one of them had ever expressed a desire for friendship or romance outside of that until this morning. He understood now how she could feel that it was completely out of the blue. He understood, but that didn't make it hurt less. It didn't lessen his desire to kill that wolf who had tried to touch her. It didn't make him less jealous when he heard the wolf tell her he loved her. Just thinking about it stung. And thinking about what they could be talking about and doing now, without him, was even worse.

He sniffed experimentally to see if she was nearby yet. Mercifully, her sweet, fresh scent filled his nose powerfully. He looked up to see her coming down the aisle.

"Inuyasha, what in the world are you doing? Why are you covered in flour? And are you... crying?"

Inuyasha jumped up and responded defensively, "I just got flour in my eyes! I'm not crying!" Unfortunately, because he was in such a hurry to stand, he slipped on some of the remaining powder and fell in a heap again on the floor. This raised another cloud of flour and had them both coughing.

He stood again, more successfully, and started to brush flour off of her face and hair. His fingers, obviously unable to help themselves, lingered a bit while stroking her cheeks and twisting through her hair. She was so beautiful. And that only made him more sad.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?"

"For covering you with flour. And also for this morning. You're right. I was moving too fast."

"You're not sorry about choking my friend?"

"Nope."

Kagome chuckled. "Well, I'll take what I can get. At least you understand now that you can't possibly love me."

_I didn't say that_, Inuyasha thought. His feelings hadn't changed at all. His only regret was telling her too soon and scaring her. But she didn't have to know that now. She would probably be more likely to tell him about herself if she didn't think he was pursuing her. And he didn't want to be told that anything about her was "none of his business". Not anymore. He could tell it was working, too, because the tension was already relaxing out of her shoulders and face, and that sweet smile he cherished was coming back. Pushing his luck a little, he decided to test his theory and see if she would answer a personal question now that she viewed him as less threatening.

"So... is he? Just your friend? It seemed like he was more." He held his breath as he waited for her answer, both because he wanted her to confide in him, and because he desperately didn't want the wolf to mean anything to her at all.

"He's... an ex." Inuyasha exhaled in relief, but still wasn't completely satisfied.

"A recent ex?"

"Very recent."

"Do you... love him?"

"I thought I did. No, I really did. But I thought he loved me, too, and that wasn't the case."

"How do you know?"

"He cheated." Inuyasha didn't miss the pain in her voice that she was clearly trying to mask. He thought about trying to bring that pain to the surface, but ultimately opted to stay as casual as she was trying to be. He'd probe deeper later, when she trusted him more.

"Well then good riddance."

"I guess... But the thing is..."

"HEY!" Both Kagome and Inuyasha turned, startled, to the owner of the voice at the end of the aisle. It was a very disgruntled supermarket employee marching towards them. "First I have to clean up an avalanche of vegetables in the produce section, and now I find you two throwing flour about for fun!? What is the meaning of this!?"

"We're not throwing it around for fun! We... work here." Inuyasha looked at Kagome bemusedly. How was she going to make him believe that?

"I know everyone who works here. You can't fool me."

"We're just hired for the day. We're supposed to look like ghosts."

"For the holidays," Inuyasha chimed in.

"It's not even October!"

"Not Halloween, silly. It's um..."

"Ghost Day!" Inuyasha chimed in again, summoning up an air of confidence to make Ghost Day seem like a real thing.

"Nice one," Kagome whispered sarcastically.

"I've never heard of Ghost Day. Hmm... Let me go check with my supervisor to see if I'm supposed to do anything festive today. I'll be right back."

"I can't believe that worked," Inuyahsa said smugly.

"It didn't actually. He'll be back in just a second."

"So? Run!" Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's hand and together they sprinted out of the store and to the car. They both climbed in and as Inuyahsa started the car and got ready to slam his foot on the gas, he watched Kagome out of the corner of his eye. She was laughing so hard that she was doubled over, with her hair cascading over her shoulders and her face still smudged with flour. And she looked beautiful.

He really did love her.

A/N: So that's the end of what I have planned out in advance, so it might be a bit before I update again because I know where I want to end up, but there are gaps between now and then that I haven't figured out how to fill. But I take requests, and I am very motivated by lots and lots of reviews. So click that button. By the way, guys, let's take a vote on this: what month is it in the story? She's there for a full month, but I don't know which month that is. All I know is that it's during the school year and that it's not October. Any thoughts? Oh! And I forgot to mention this last chapter, but, yes, the song reference in the chapter before that was totally intentional. I couldn't help myself. :)


	13. Returns

Kagome stopped laughing abruptly when she noticed Inuyasha's intense gaze. There was some heat in it that scared her. Still, she couldn't look away at first.

The eye contact broke when Inuyasha looked sheepishly away and tried to pretend he hadn't been staring at her. He hit the gas and they pealed out of the parking lot.

Now it was Kagome's turn to stare. She couldn't quite figure Inuyasha out. It seemed like he had retreated, but that look had given her a different impression. Maybe he hadn't given up after all.

Well then. If he wouldn't quit, then she should at least take advantage of his interest. She decided to ask for something that she had wanted since arriving at the house.

"Inuyasha?"

"Yes?"

"You said you wanted to get to know me, right?"

"Yes," he breathed.

"Then... what do you say we invite my best friend over today? She knows me better than anyone." Kagome subtly held her breath and crossed her fingers behind the car seat.

Inuyasha glanced at her and then back at the road. "Ok. Yes."

"YES!"

As soon as they arrived home, Kagome sprinted to the bedroom and started throwing clothes and toiletries around until she reached her long-buried cell phone in the bottom of her luggage. She turned it on. Seventeen missed calls, twelve texts and five messages. She ignored them for the moment and pressed her favorite speed dial number. After only half a ring...

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WOMAN, I THOUGHT YOU HAD DIED."

"SANGO, I AM SO EXCITED TO HEAR YOUR VOICE!"

"I HOPE YOU'VE BEEN IN A HOSTAGE SITUATION AND UNABLE TO CALL ME, BECAUSE I WILL KILL YOU IN ANY OTHER CIRCUMSTANCE!"

"YOUR VOICE IS LIKE MUSIC AND JOY AND RAINBOWS!"

"TELL ME YOU HAVE BEEN SITTING IN A BASEMENT SOMEWHERE GAGGED AND STARVING AND THAT YOU FOUGHT SEVERAL MEN TO THE DEATH TO BE ABLE TO FINALLY MAKE THIS CALL!"

"I CAN FEEL ALL OF THE PROBLEMS OF MY SOUL AND THE WHOLE WORLD BEING SOLVED BY YOUR MAGICAL VOICE!"

"Listen, are you high?"

"On my love for you? Yes."

"You have a funny way of showing your love for me. Seriously, where have you been?"

"Come over. I'll explain."

"Done. I'll be there soon."

"Wait, no!"

"What?"

"Not 'come over' as in come over to my apartment. 'Come over' as in come over to... the house I'm living in right now."

"Ok... where are you living now?"

Kagome gave her the address.

A little while later, Sango's jeep pulled into the driveway. Kagome, who had been waiting eagerly by the window, shot out the door and tackled her o the grass.

"Sango!"

"You live here now? How? How are you affording this?" Kagome was about to answer when she saw Sango's gaze switch to something behind her. She turned to see Inuyasha. "Oh..." Sango continued. "You're living with someone? Are you...?"

"No! It's not like that at all," Kagome hastily explained. Inuyasha growled, but then pretended he hadn't when she gave him a look. She turned back to Sango. "He's my employer."

"And what do you... do?"

"Come in. I'll explain everything."

Some time later, after Kagome briefed Sango on the situation, she leaned back to take it all in.

"So... I don't understand. If you've already figured out where the bruises came from and fixed that whole situation, then why are you still going to be here for the rest of the month?"

"I'm here because we told Maeko I'd be here. She's waited so long to have a mother, and now that we've told her I'll be here for a month, we can't very well end it early. Plus, you know, a thousand dollars a day."

"Right. Second question, and this is an important one, am I correct in gathering that you were planning on just not calling me at all for a MONTH?"

"I, uh... I'm sorry, I hadn't really thought about it. I've been so focused on getting in character and learning everything I have to learn here that I just haven't been checking my cell at all..."

"You do realize that everything with Kouga happened only two weeks ago and that the last time I talked to you you were visibly, extremely upset, and that it was right after that that you all of a sudden and out of nowhere dropped off of the face of the earth? Can you imagine what I've been thinking?"

"No. And I don't want to. I would be going crazy if that was you. I wasn't thinking. I'm so, so sorry."

"Two weeks ago?" Inuyasha interjected. "This all happened two weeks ago?" They both stared at him as if they had forgotten he was there. Undaunted, he continued. "Sango, can you tell me about him? What's he like?"

"A pig. He's a pig. He comes on too strong with too many flattering words, and he leads a girl to think she's his everything, when actually he intends to break her heart. I hate him, and all flatterers like him."

The doorbell rang.

"Speaking of which..." said Inuyasha. "That'll be Miroku with the kids."

"Who?"

"Shoot. Can you get it Inuyasha? Sango and I need to quickly come up with some sort of backstory for her."

Inuyasha reluctantly got up.

"What do you think? You could have been my co-worker in Africa. Or a friend I had here before I left."

"Why hello, Inuyasha," Miroku said from the doorway. "I've brought the children back. Could Shippo and I come in for a moment? Shippo's not quite ready to say goodbye to Maeko, and I know I'd like to see the lovely K..." he stopped speaking abruptly when he finally managed to push past Inuyasha and see the two women standing behind him. "...the lovely creature in your living room that you have yet to introduce me to," he finished seamlessly. "May I ask your name, beautiful goddess?"

There was an awkward silence. Kagome elbowed Sango. "He's talking to you."

"Not if he knows what's good for him, he's not."

"So you want to remain a woman of mystery? Well, it only increases your charm and allure. Tell me..." He knelt in front of Sango and grabbed her hands. "Will you bear my children?"

The next thing anybody knew, Sango had roundhouse kicked Miroku in the face.

"I'll take that as a maybe..."

A/N: Did I scare you guys? Did you think I disappeared again? Well... I still might. But I wrote one more for you anyway. Congrats to LEA for predicting my next move. Of course Sango had to be brought into it all! I wouldn't have Miroku in it without his soulmate. Not that it's looking good for him so far. But have faith. Also, I am leaving the "vote for what month it is" contest open until at least my next chapter, because you guys have zero consensus. Once again, the options are: any month except July and August (since Maeko has been in school so far) and October (since I clearly stated that wasn't it). The months with votes so far are: April, September, December, and February. If you guys do pick something, it will definitely affect the storyline. For example, a major holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas might mean meeting family, a Valentine's Day might hike up the romance earlier in the story, putting it in June would mean Maeko is home a lot more at the end of the month, etc. Up to you guys. You are my muses. Finally, J Luc Pitard, I hope Kagome was able to explain why she's still here even though the "bullying" has been solved. You had a valid point, though, and I'm glad you pointed it out. I love your psychoanalyzations, so please keep them coming. :)


	14. Diversions

Before Inuyasha had time to react to Sango's roundhouse kick, Shippo was flying at her in a ball of claws and fur and anger. Kagome caught him deftly just before he reached Sango's face and held him close to her chest.

"Hey, hey, it's ok," she whispered soothingly. "Sango was just joking around. Your dad's fine." She then made eye contact with Inuyasha and raised her eyebrows in a "do something!" kind of way. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and grabbed Miroku by his collar, heaving him up and dangling the somewhat limp man in front of the panicking fox demon. "Tell him how fine you are, Miroku," he ordered in an annoyed, monotone voice.

"Son, I am perfectly fine," Miroku responded regally, as if he were not being propped up at all. "And I would be very upset if you harmed your future mother."

"You must have gotten hit pretty hard if you think that. Want another kick to see if we can get your head right again?" Sango shot back.

"His head has never been right," muttered Inuyasha. He was annoyed that this was happening. He had just been on the verge of getting some actual information on Kagome from this Sango person, and then Miroku had to come in and piss her off. And that only introduced more questions. Why was Kagome friends with someone that could deliver a solid blow like that? Her form had been perfect. And Kagome hadn't been too shappy either when she grabbed Shippo out of midair and restrained him without any injury to herself. As if she was used to deflecting attacks. What did that mean? It didn't look like he'd get any answer from anyone as long as this chaos was going on.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Who... wants some ice cream?" The arguing that was going on while he was thinking immediately stopped.

"What was that?"

"Ice cream. Peanut butter blast, Chocolate, Cookie dough, I'm guessing Vanilla or something else boring, and, I don't know, Pistachio?" he said, pointing to Maeko, Kagome, Miroku, Shippo, and Sango respectively.

"Why would you guess Pistachio?"

"There's nothing wrong with Vanilla!"

"Are you in or not!?"

Twenty minutes later, the mismatched group were walking around downtown licking away at their respective cones. Maeko and Shippo were in front, and Kagome decided to rescue Sango from Miroku by engaging him in a conversation about the PTA. That left Inuyasha in the back with Sango, which was exactly what he wanted.

"You know," she said. "Pistachio is actually not bad..."

Inuyasha licked his own cone of Cherry and contemplated how best to start asking the questions he wanted to. As always, he decided that directness was best.

"So. You know how to fight. Why?"

Sango stopped eating and stared at him. "You really don't know anything about Kagome, do you?"

"Nothing. So tell me."

"Why should I if she hasn't?" Instead of answering, Inuyasha flicked one of his frozen cherries at Miroku. The jerk was looking a little too closely at Kagome licking her ice cream.

"Nevermind. I see why you want to know. And I know why she hasn't told you."

"Why?"

"Because she doesn't tell anyone anything. She hardly even talks to me." That made Inuyasha feel a bit better, but at the same time really sad. He was about to press further, when Sango continued. "But I will tell you if you want."

"Why?"

"Because I think she likes you, too." Inuyasha felt like his heart had stopped.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Do you see her glancing anxiously back here all the time?"

"I figured it was because she wanted me to rescue her from the monk."

"Nah, she can handle herself. It's because she wants to know what we're talking about. She cares what you think of her. And that's rare." Inuyasha filed that into the section of his brain that he labeled "Be Happy About Later." Right now he had a mission.

"Ok, so tell me then."

"We're in a gang. We have been since we were sixteen." Inuyasha didn't react outwardly, but so many more questions started swimming in his mind. Sango was studying his face. "Can you handle that?" she asked.

"Well, I'll have to. I love her," he said automatically. Then he hurriedly added, "Don't tell her."

Sango shrugged. "Even if I did, she wouldn't believe it."

"I know that. But I don't want to scare her. Do you believe it?"

"I don't know you, so I'll reserve judgment for now. But I do know that if you hurt her I will rip your balls off and feed them to you."

"...Ouch."

"The only reason I haven't done the same to Kouga yet is because I'm still not sure whether she'll try to work it out with him." Inuyasha couldn't stop the growl that rumbled from his chest. He wouldn't let that happen. He'd rip off the wolf's balls himself first. Sango wasn't startled by his anger at all. She eyed him levelly. "For the record, I'm rooting for you. But don't take that too much to heart. It's only because I hate Kouga, not because I necessarily like you."

"I'll take it."

Sango flung what was left of her ice cream into a nearby trash can. "If you don't mind, I think I'm going to talk to her for a bit. We obviously have a lot to discuss." With that, she trotted forward. Inuyasha didn't miss the look of joy on Kagome's face when she saw it. The two must be really close. Before long, Miroku was shoved back in the line to where he was.

"Hey!" he said. "Did she say anything about me?"

"Only that she loves you madly and wants to rip off all of your clothes with her teeth."

"Really!?"

"No."

Miroku pouted. "Well, it's only a matter of time. This one's different."

"You say that about every one. Including my wife."

"She really is something else..."

"Miroku, I will put this cone through your eye!"

"That would be a shame. Then I wouldn't be as able to watch the elegant sway of the tight buttocks in front of us."

"I should gouge out both your eyes. For the good of women everywhere."

"It might do you some good, too. Then I wouldn't be able to see right through you."

Inuyasha tensed. "What do you mean?"

"You're not married."

"What? Of course I am."

Miroku smirked. "Then where are the rings?"


	15. Absence

Kagome and Sango walked happily down the street together.

"It's really good to see you," Kagome said.

"Same here." They walked for a little bit in silence, and Kagome took the opportunity to bask in her happiness. It was nice to feel like she only had to be herself. Then Sango broke the silence again. "So the kids are cute."

Kagome smiled warmly. "Yeah, they're adorable. Maeko is about the sweetest kid you'll ever meet."

"And... the guy is cute, too."

"Really? You think so? I thought you weren't into Miroku at all..."

"Ugh, not him! The other one."

"You like Inuyasha?" Kagome wrinkled her nose. For some reason the idea bothered her.

"Wrong again. You're very dense."

"Hey!"

"Ok, let me try this from a different angle. ...You seem really happy."

Kagome tilted her head in confusion and laughed. "Of course I am. You're here."

"I was there a couple weeks ago, too, and you didn't seem happy then."

Kagome grimaced when she thought back to the day Sango was talking about. She had cried the whole night while Sango held her. She didn't like to show emotion, but that night she had been unable to hold it in. It was definitely a low point. "Well sure," she said. "But everything with Kouga had only just happened."

"And it's been what, an eternity now? It hasn't been two years, Kagome, it's been two weeks. That's hardly enough time for you to heal naturally and get back to a place where you can be happy again."

"Well I've been acting happy because I have to."

"Are you acting now?"

Kagome thought about it. She wasn't intentionally acting, but maybe she had slipped into the character so much that she didn't even notice it. But then again... The dull ache in the pit of her stomach just wasn't there anymore. "No..." she said finally.

"So what's changed in your heart since I saw you last?"

"I..." Without quite knowing why, Kagome glanced backwards. Then she stopped walking abruptly. "Wait a second... where did they go?" The two males that were formerly walking behind them were suddenly nowhere to be seen. Sango stopped, too. Kagome distractedly called out to the kids so they wouldn't go on by themselves. "They were there just a second ago, weren't they? How did we lose them?"

"Where's Daddy?" Maeko asked, running up.

"And where's my dad?" Shippo asked as well, glaring at Sango. "Do you have something to do with this?"

"Why would I?"

"You've been mean to my dad all evening! And he's been nothing but nice to you."

"Nice!? That b..."

"Sango!" Kagome cautioned.

"That big goofball and I were just playing!" Sango finished akwardly. "I'd never hurt him."

"That's not what you said before. You said you'd cut off his hands and slap him to death with them."

"Uh..."

"And all he did was give you a nice pat on the back!"

"That wasn't my back, kid..."

Kagome stopped listening to the quarrel. She was starting to get worried. It was dark already and she knew for a fact that there were people around after dark who didn't have the best intentions. What if something had happened to Inuyasha?

Just then, Sango screamed. Kagome whipped around, heart pounding, to see her slamming a man against the shop next to them.

"Oh," Sango said. "It's you."

"I knew you were trying to hurt my dad!"

"He's fine! And he touched my... back again!"

Kagome looked around to make sure Inuyasha had returned too, and found him looking at her with a strange mixture of embarrassment and intensity.

"Where have you been?" she asked.

"I'll tell you when we get home," he answered, nodding his head to Maeko.

Kagome was immediately suspicious, but nodded back. "Let's go then."

When they finally arrived back at the house, everyone started saying their goodbyes.

"I'll miss you, Shippo!"

"Darling goddess, I shall long for the day I see your face again!"

"Bye, brat. Bye, monk. Get out."

Kagome looked to Sango. "Thanks for coming," she said.

"Anytime. Try not to take so long between calls next time."

"I promise."

"And... I never really got to finish what I was trying to tell you earlier, but..." Sango shook her head and smiled. "I think you'll figure it out on your own." Kagome wasn't quite sure what that meant, but she nodded.

Once everyone was gone, and Maeko was safely in bed, Kagome turned to Inuyasha, letting her face show the annoyance she had been suppressing since he came back.

"So? Where were you? I was worried."

"Miroku's onto us."

"What? How?"

Inuyasha took her left hand and held it up. "Notice something missing?"

Kagome gasped. "How could we overlook something so crucial? All this time I've been memorizing all the tiny details about your life and yet I made such a glaring mistake! I'm so sorry!" She felt like a failure as an actress.

"It doesn't matter. It's only Miroku who noticed. The kids don't know the difference. But anyway... I got you this." Kagome gasped again, in a very different way. The ring he was holding out to her was gorgeous. It was made from twisted silver, with emeralds and diamonds glittering in the light. The wedding band attached to it was silver as well.

"Can I put it on you?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome nodded dumbly. He was still holding her left hand, so he simply slipped the ring onto her finger and released it. She held her hand up to eye level so she could see how it looked. It made her seem so much more elegant. She was still at a loss for words.

"Do you like it?" She nodded. "Do you want to put mine on me?" She nodded again. Inuyasha handed her his ring. She studied it. It was bolder and less delicate-looking than hers was, but it had the same kinds of twists, so it was clear that the two were a set. She took his hand in hers and slid the ring on. For some reason, as she did, her throat tightened. It felt so serious.

"Hey," she said suddenly, breaking her silence. "Why these rings? How did you know I'd like them?"

"Green is your favorite color, when you wear jewelry you wear silver, and you're not a typical girl, so I figured you wouldn't want a typical ring. I thought you'd like it." He was right, she did. But when did he start paying such close attention to her? Recently, or had he always been watching?

"Thank you," she said finally. "I'll give it back at the end of the month."

Inuyasha looked away. "Yeah..." he said quietly. "I know."


	16. A Crazy Plan

Inuyasha looked away. "Yeah..." he said quietly. "I know."

Did she always have to bring that up? Did she have to rub it in his face? Every time he thought he was getting through to her, she did something to make him feel shut down. Still, she did like the ring, and she would be wearing it from now on. And that meant, at the very least, that everyone who saw her would assume she was taken, even if he wasn't with her at the time. Not that he particularly intended to let her leave his sight ever, but it was nice to know that if she did she wouldn't be hit on. As much.

He rotated his own ring on his finger, thinking that he liked the feel, then eventually said, "Well, good night then, I guess."

Kagome nodded.

Then they walked wordlessly past each other to their respective bedrooms.

When he got to his bed, Inuyasha collapsed onto it without bothering to take his clothes off. So Miroku knew now. And that meant that when the two were alone with him they didn't have to pretend anymore. As selfish as it was, he wished that they would have to. Because when they were acting, it was the only time that he could be romantic with her. Play with her hair, call her pet names, even kiss her. He had taken those times for granted. Now when would he get the opportunity to? Perhaps he should invite someone over...

Before falling asleep, he took a few extra minutes to dwell on the other new revelation of the day. She was in a gang. That was unexpected. He had trouble picturing the sweet women he had gotten to know fighting or vandalizing or even just talking tough. If he had known that about her before they had met, there was no way he would let her into his house or near his child. Now the revelation just summoned a surge of protectiveness within him. How had she ended up in that situation? He needed to find out. But it would have to wait until tomorrow...

The bed felt empty again without her. For a second, Inuyasha thought about calling Maeko to come sleep in his bed with him so it would seem less lonely, but of course then she would ask where Kagome was. He sighed. The farce was starting to feel like a burden...

All these thought swirled in Inuyasha's head until, finally, he fell into a dreamless sleep. The next morning, he woke up late.

Yawning, he made his way to the kitchen, where Kagome was, as usual, making breakfast. Maeko was there, too, though. Inuyasha checked the clock, confused, before he realized that it was the weekend. Shoot. That meant that his questions about Kagome would have to wait. Oh well. He could focus on his other objective then.

"Someone's coming over today," he said sleepily. Kagome stopped scrambling the eggs and looked up.

"Really? Who?"

"Uuuuhhh..." he probably should have figured out the answer to that before he spoke. And he wasn't awake enough to think quickly.

"Miroku?" she asked.

"No. Definitely not." That wouldn't accomplish the objective at all. And besides, now that he knew he'd probably hit on Kagome a lot more.

"Sango again?"

"No..." She knew, too. But he didn't have a lot of friends to invite over... why didn't he think this through?

"Then who?"

"It's, uh..." He tried to clear the sleepy haze from his mind and think. "Ummm..." Think really hard. "It's my brother." What? Well, that was a terrible idea. That was not thinking hard at all. That was just stupid. His brother hated him.

Kagome put her spatula down. "Sesshoumaru is coming? The brother that you haven't spoken to in ten years and that I've never met?'

"Nooo..." Inuyasha said. "The... other brother."

"You don't have another brother." Well there goes that plan.

"Ok, well then... yup! That's the one! Listen, I'll be right back." Inuyasha hurriedly retreated back to his room. He briefly debated whether to go back out there and say that he was kidding. But then... having her act like she was his husband was so nice...

He retrieved Sesshoumaru's number from his phone, hovered his finger over the send button, and then gritted his teeth and pressed it. He almost hung up immediately afterward, but Sesshoumaru answered after half a ring.

"Inuyasha?"

"Heeeeyyyyyyy brother."

"Are you drunk?"

"No."

"Dying?"

"No."

"Poor?"

"No!"

"...Gay?"

"No! Why would I call you if I were gay?"

"I don't know. Emotional support?"

"Because you're just brimming with that," Inuyasha scoffed.

"Well then why did you call?"

"Uuhhhhmmm... Listen. Come over. Come over to my house. Today."

There was a very long pause. "Why?"

"Because it's... Ghost Day... and that's a day you should spend with your family..."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I don't know! Ok? I don't know. Just come over. You're my brother. Can't I just invite you over?"

"Why now?"

"Why not now?"

Sesshoumaru sighed heavily. "Can I bring my daughter?"

"You have a daughter?" Inuyasha was kinda shocked. He couldn't picture Sesshoumaru as a father at all.

"Yes."

"Oh... me too."

"Then I can assume that your house is appropriately safe for children?"

"Yes... it is. You can bring her."

"Alright... text me your address and I will see you for dinner." Sesshoumaru hung up. Inuyasha stared at the phone and then obediently typed his address into it. What did he just do? This was possibly, potentially, a very bad idea.

There was a knock at his bedroom door.

"Inuyasha?"

"Come in."

Kagome entered, looking worried. She glanced back over her shoulder to make sure that Maeko hadn't followed her, then lowered her voice to a whisper. "Sesshoumaru is coming over?" she asked again.

"Yup. Yup, he is."

"But won't he... know? Like immediately? Just from my scent?"

Inuyasha hadn't thought of that. This plan was really terrible. "Well... yeah, he'll know you aren't marked. But not everyone marks their mate. Not even every married demon. It's a much bigger commitment than a human marriage, because there's no way to break it. So he might just assume that you're scared of that, or that I'm not sure."

"But won't he also know that we haven't... you know..."

"No... he'll know that we haven't recently, but not that we haven't ever. But he will know we don't sleep in the same bed unless..."

"Unless...?"

"Unless... I don't know, unless I hold you for a while?"

Kagome gulped and then nodded. "Well, we've gotta do what we've gotta do. Come on, on the bed."

Inuyasha obediently followed Kagome to the bed and wrapped her securely in his arms, feeling the warmth of her body and breathing her scent.

"Half an hour should do it," he said vaguely. "But maybe an hour just to be safe?"

This was the best plan ever.

A/N: So I'm accidentally writing multiple stories at one time now. The one with the most reviews on the most recent chapter next time I'm in the mood to write will get another chapter published, so if you want this one, then you'd better say so. :)


	17. The Brothers Meet

Kagome nudged Inuyasha.

"You need to get that," she whispered. The doorbell rang again. Inuyasha continued to stare dumbly. Seeing that he wasn't very likely to snap out of it, Kagome sighed and stepped past him, opening the door.

The man standing behind it towered over her, filling the entire door frame. Unconsciously, Kagome took a step back, then mentally scolded herself for being so impolite and put on her warmest smile.

"Hello, I'm Kagome. I'm Inuyasha's wife," she said. "Please come in."

He eyed her warily, then grandly stepped past her.

"Inuyasha," he said, nodding to the still-immobile hanyou. "Your house is adequate."

Without meaning to, Kagome snorted. Sesshoumaru turned to her ominously.

"What noise just came out of you?"

Kagome blushed furiously, but didn't let it stop her from responding. "It's just that... adequate? Really? This house has two pools. Balconies. A marble fireplace!"

"That is what makes it adequate. It is certainly superior to the cardboard box he was living in before."

"Last time you saw him he was in college," Kagome shot back, easily recalling the timeline she had memorized. "By cardboard box, do you mean dorm?"

"I have never found it necessary to know the name of those hovels."

"What's a hovel?" Kagome was startled to see a small girl peeking around Sesshoumaru's leg. She must have been hidden in the fur and robes he was for some reason wearing.

Sesshoumaru glanced back to her and patiently explained, "It's a place where commoners live when they can't afford proper accommodations."

Kagome could not believe this guy. She looked to Inuyasha to see what he thought of it all, and found him still gaping and speechless.

"Inuyasha," she hissed, trying to bring him back to earth. When he still didn't respond, she yanked swiftly on his ear.

"Ow! Sorry. It's just weird. It's weird to see you, Sesshoumaru. But... Is this your daughter?"

"Yes."

"She's... human."

"Correct again."

"So how...?"

"I found her." Both Kagome and Inuyasha waited for more explanation, but none seemed to be coming.

"Well, she's beautiful," Kagome said finally. "What's her name?"

"My name is Rin, and I think you're pretty, too!" Rin exclaimed.

"Well, thank you! Would you like to meet my daughter? She's about your age, and I think you'd get along."

Rin nodded, and Kagome called for Maeko.

"Coming!" she replied. Before long, she scampered into the room.

"Maeko, this is your Uncle Sesshoumaru."

"Hello!" she said, craning her neck to see his face. "You are very tall. Why are you wearing a dress with hair?"

Kagome summoned all of her acting experience to keep from laughing, and instead continued with the introduction.

"And this is your cousin Rin."

"Hi Rin! Welcome to my house!"

"Thank you! It is ally quit."

"Adequate," corrected Sesshoumaru. Maeko looked to Kagome for an explanation.

"It means reeeeally, really cool," she whispered tiredly.

"Oh! Thank you! I think your dress is ally quit."

Rin looked to Sesshoumaru. "Does that mean I look like a house?"

"No."

"Does it mean I look like a lavul?"

"Hovel. And no."

"What does it mean?"

"She is saying that your dress is merely acceptable, which is false because it is extraordinary."

"Oh. Should I be mad?"

"Yes."

Rin put on her best scowl.

"Mommy, why is she squinting at me?"

"Because her dad is a little insane."

"Care to repeat that?" Sesshoumaru articulated menacingly.

"I said 'her dad is a little in pain'! Because you're so hungry. Aren't you? Aren't we all?"

"I am!" Maeko declared obligingly.

"Me too!" Rin joined in.

"I am appropriately prepared to consume whatever you have made, yes."

"What he said," Inuyasha mumbled.

"Great! To the dining room then."

Kagome had the distinct feeling that this was going to be a very, very long night.

She left her guests seated around the table as she went to grab the salad she had made as a first course. It was nothing fancy, and after witnessing Sesshoumaru's attitude so far she was starting to feel insecure about it. She leaned her head back around the frame of the door leading to the dining room and tried to catch Inuyasha's eye. When she did, she motioned for him to follow her. He looked relieved and excused himself.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied. "Is this salad ok? Will he expect there to be caviar and champagne-soaked lobster chunks in it?"

"It's fine."

"You didn't even look at it!"

He glanced quickly, then repeated, "It's fine."

She put the salad down and crossed her arms. "Inuyasha, what's with you? You've been acting really strangely ever since the doorbell rang. Is it really that weird for you to see your own brother?"

"It's beyond weird. We were never close, but now after a decade of not even hearing anything about him I feel even farther away. I have no idea what to say or how to act."

"Do you want to be close with him?"

Inuyasha looked away. "Keh..."

"I'll take that as a yes. So, get in there! Bond over being single dads and rolling in money. You can compare rolling techniques. For example, do you prefer rolling in bills or coins? One is more comfortable, but the other makes a more substantial and impressive looking pile..."

"Ok, I'll try, but... can you just..."

"What?"

"I don't know... stay next to me and help? You're good with the conversation stuff. And... you make me feel more comfortable." Inuyasha was avoiding eye contact and it made Kagome smile.

"Of course I will," she said. "That's what wives are for anyway."

Inuyasha nodded, and they carried out all the courses at once so Kagome wouldn't have to leave to get them. As they sat down, Kagome reached for Inuyasha's hand under the table and gave it a squeeze. He held onto it firmly.

She spent the rest of the meal trying to pretend that she could eat with her left hand.

A/N: Looks like my firstborn is still the favorite, but barely. Thank you all for all of your support. For those that have asked why I am crazy enough to write four stories at the same time, well... it's because there's just too darn much going on in my head and it has trouble staying in one place. So if you want it to stay here, with this story... then you know what to do. Love you all! :)


	18. Who is she?

As the night wore on, Inuyasha felt completely relaxed. With Kagome's hand soothingly gripping his, his brother didn't seem so intimidating anymore. And once he got over that, he could remember his true objective. He took every chance he could get to stroke her arm, play with her hair, look at her fondly, or give her a quick kiss on the cheek. But he didn't kiss her on the lips anymore. He wanted the next time that happened to be real.

By the end of the night, after everyone had finished their meal and had retired to the sitting room to continue the conversation, Inuyasha was confident enough to sit close to Kagome and drape an arm over her. She obligingly leaned against him and tucked her legs up underneath her. Maeko climbed into her lap and leaned on him as well. And the whole thing just felt so natural. He felt Maeko breathing, he knew Kagome could probably hear his heart, and he felt like they were all one unit. He felt like he could take on anything. Even Sesshoumaru's condescending attitude and inability to refrain from commenting on any perceived flaws.

At the end of the night, when everyone said goodbye, their guests left, and Inuyasha tucked Maeko into bed, he went back to Kagome and smiled warmly at her. "Thanks for the great evening," he said.

"Uh huh," Kagome replied dismissively. The warmth that was in her eyes previously had completely disappeared.

"Kagome? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, reaching for her arm. She drew it away sharply.

"I said not to act like that when we're alone," she snapped. Inuyasha dropped his hand as if she'd slapped it.

"Did you hate it that much?"

"That's not what's at issue here. Were you playing me? Were you only pretending to be scared of talking to your brother so I'd console you and you could act lovey dovey with me all night? "

"No! I was scared! I was terrified!"

"Then why is it that the second I started being affectionate, you dropped all pretense of fear altogether and were totally fine for the rest of the evening, even smiling and laughing and making completely normal conversation?"

"Because... you..."

"I don't appreciate being manipulated like that. I thought I was clear about rejecting your feelings, and it does not make me happy that you played with mine and orchestrated a situation to get what you want from me. I mean... is that why he came over? So you could pull that?"

Inuyasha was silent. Not everything she was accusing him of was true, but there was enough truth in it that he felt terrible. He couldn't even look her in the eyes.

"If you have nothing to say, then I'm going to bed. In my own room. And from now on, I don't even want to talk to you while we're alone unless it's related to Maeko. Good night." And then she was gone.

Inuyasha slumped onto the couch, overwhelmed by the weight of her words. It hurt. It really hurt that the whole evening had just been an act for her, and one that she clearly didn't even like performing. It also hurt that she was revoking their friendship, because it was something that he had come to value a great deal. He had no idea of what to do to win her back, but there had to be something. This couldn't be it for them. At least she was still contractually obligated to be here for the rest of the month, and that was a lot of time yet. He'd figure something out.

Eventually, he made his way to his bedroom and got into bed, but it was a restless night for him. He barely slept at all.

The next morning, when the morning sun was at its most obnoxiously bright through his windows, Inuyasha suddenly woke up. At first he wasn't sure why, but then he became aware of an obnoxious buzzing noise. Trying to clear his mind and focus, Inuyasha finally realized that it was the doorbell. Someone was pressing it incessantly and refused to stop.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" he yelled grumpily as he rolled out of bed.

Stumbling to the door, he managed to open it and then froze mid-yawn when he saw who it was... because the first love of his life, the woman that had walked out on him seven years ago and broken his heart, the mother of his child was standing in front of him.

"Long time no see..." he said awkwardly.

"I want to see my daughter," she said in a clipped, no-nonsense tone. Then she tried to push past him, and his hand immediately shot out to block the door.

"I don't think that's such a great idea."

"Why the hell not? She's mine," she argued, trying to shove his arm out of the way.

"Really? Because I doubt she'd even recognize you. And if you saw her on the street you wouldn't recognize her either. Maeko is not yours. She's mine."

"What's going on?" Kagome asked, approaching the pair timidly. She was still in her pajamas as well. Inuyasha saw her eye the way Kikyo's hand was touching his arm and immediately pulled it back, but then regretted it when Kikyo took the opportunity to force her way in.

"Who's this, Inuyasha?" Kikyo asked, circling Kagome appraisingly. "Your girlfriend?"

"Wife," he responded angrily.

"Bullshit. I can see from her neck that you haven't marked her and I know you'd never marry a woman who wouldn't bond herself to you completely. Speaking of which, when are we going to get on that? It's been a long time coming, don't you think?"

Inuyasha was literally shaking with rage. How dare she just waltz back in here and try to take over his life and his feelings again? Now that he wasn't hopelessly in love with the woman before him, he could see her for what she was. Controlling, entitled, and arrogant. Thinking back, he realized that she had always treated him the way she was treating him now. It wasn't until Kagome came around that he was able to realize that he deserved better, because even Kagome's fake love was better than the real relationship he had with Kikyo. He was about to tell her so and smooth the hurt and worry lines that he could see forming on Kagome's face when another voice interrupted the conversation.

"Daddy? Mommy? Who is that?"

Kikyo sneered. "You call this woman 'Mommy'? Oh, you poor deceived child." She knelt in front of Maeko and took her face in both of her hands. "Look at me. Listen to me," she said. "I am your mommy. Not that bitch."

Inuyasha immediately pulled Kikyo off of his daughter, beyond furious now. "Kagome is not a bitch," he growled. "And you are not and will never be her mother."

"Well, neither am I," Kagome said flatly. Everyone turned to stare at her incredulously. Inuyasha felt his heart break a little. But when she wordlessly took off her ring and held it out to him, it broke completely.

When he didn't take it, she sighed and placed it on the end table beside her. "Look, it sounds like you guys have a lot to work out, and I'm not really a part of this, so... I'm going to go."

"No!" Inuyasha cried fiercely, letting go of Kikyo and reaching for her. She stepped backwards to avoid his touch.

"Don't go, Mommy, please!" Maeko wailed. Kagome's eyes softened a little as she bent down to the little girl before her.

"I'm sorry, baby. I mean... Maeko. I'm sorry, Maeko. This isn't about you. Please believe me. You're a wonderful little girl." She kissed her forehead, and straightened again. Then she made eye contact with Inuyasha for one long second, pulled a coat out of the closet and walked out his front door, closing it firmly behind her.

A/N: I'm going to be honest with you guys. I did not think I would be going this direction so soon, and I didn't think it would be so traumatizing when I did go here. I had actually already written this and a couple other chapters as an ending but I could not for the life of me figure out how to get there the way that I had written it. Inuyasha and Kagome were supposed to be right on the brink of getting together when this happened but with Kagome being so dang stubborn I couldn't think of a way to make that work if I left them the way they are. That's why it's been a couple weeks since I went back to this one. I've been stuck. So anyway... I moved up the Kikyo bomb, I rewrote the whole tone of it, and now I have a feel for where the story could go again. Stay tuned, friends. And thanks for all your patience.


	19. An Odd Solution

It had only been a few hours. Kagome paced her apartment angrily, trying to mentally grasp the fact that since she had marched out of Inuyasha's house, it had only been two hours, fifty-six minutes, and nine seconds. Ten. Eleven.

But why did it feel like it had been days? She didn't even know what she was doing. She hadn't meant to leave. She'd just gotten spooked. Staring at that woman that actually had blood ties to Maeko and had actually been in a real relationship with Inuyasha, she just felt like such an outsider. She felt like such a sham. And she couldn't take it.

Her doorbell rang and Kagome hurried to the door, flinging it open to reveal Sango standing worriedly outside.

"Thanks for coming."

"Sure. What happened?"

"Maeko's mother showed up."

"Wow." Kagome nodded as she welcomed her friend inside. She entered and crossed the room to the couch. Kagome sat woodenly beside her. "Did he kick you out?"

"No. I left."

"Why?"

"Because Inuyasha obviously had some explaining to do, and I'm not really a part of that."

"Of course you are."

"Not in any way that will be helped by my presence. When Maeko finds out about all the lies, she'll probably hate me. And I don't want to be there for that. It's best if I'm gone and she can just forget about me. Forget about the whole thing. Get to know her real mother."

Sango was silent for a moment. "What about Inuyasha?" she finally asked.

Kagome stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"It seemed like something was starting there..."

"We were just acting, Sango."

"That's not what he told me." Kagome blinked rapidly, fighting back tears.

"I know," she said. "That's not what he told me either. But I just have so much trouble believing it! Yesterday, his brother came over and we acted all coupley all day, and... I loved it. Every second of it. I didn't want his brother to go. But when he did I just started second-guessing myself and everything and I convinced myself that the whole thing was a manipulation and I yelled at him for it."

"So, what you're saying is... you like him back? And you are really, really terrible at communicating that?"

"I... I don't know."

"Do you enjoy his company? Are you attracted to him? Do you miss him now? Are you unhappy when you think about not seeing him again?"

Kagome dropped her face miserably into her hands. "Yes..."

"Well then you're a first class idiot," Sango said huffily.

"What?"

"How about this. Instead of assuming that everyone is lying to you and manipulating you and trying to break you emotionally, why don't you instead try thinking of people as sincere once in a while?"

"What, like it's that easy?"

"It is if you try."

"Prove it."

"How?"

"Go on a date with someone who is actually a really nice guy, but whom you fundamentally distrust, and then chill out the entire time and give him the benefit of the doubt. If you can do it, then I will personally go back to Inuyasha's house, tell him I like him and that I want to date for real, and I will give HIM the benefit of the doubt. And it will all be thanks to your inspiring example."

"I don't see how my going out with some random smarmy schmuck will help you."

"Miroku."

"What!?"

"Not some random smarmy schmuck. Miroku. Go on a date with him."

"Handy McGroperson!?"

"He's a really nice guy. Cares about his kid a lot. Go out with him."

"No!"

"Exactly. You won't. Because you don't trust him and you can't just change that at the drop of the hat. Don't you see, Sango? It's the same for me. I feel how I feel and I can't just decide not to feel that way. That's not how it works."

Sango gritted her teeth angrily. "You know what? If you and Inuyasha get married and have some more babies, you'd better name one of them after me." She pulled out her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making sure that my best friend is happy instead of being closed off and emotionally stunted forever." She clicked Miroku's number.

"What the!? How do you even HAVE his number!?"

"He slipped it to me like five or six times throughout the evening. He even wrote it on my hand at some point. I seriously don't know how. Ready? And... calling." She pressed send.

"Sango, no!"

"It's ringing."

"It was a hypothetical scenario! An example!"

"You said you'd tell Inuyasha how you feel if I did this, so I am doing this."

"Yeah, but..."

"Hello?"

"Hello, Miroku. It's Sango."

"Miroku, hang up! Sango's... drunk! She's high! And she just watched a bunch of romantic comedies so she's all confused!"

"Miroku, for the health and happiness of my friend, I would like to go on a date with you. Tonight."

"Tonight!? Sango, you're crazy."

"The sooner the better! We can get this whole messed fixed by tomorrow! What do you say, Miroku?"

"Yes! I say yes! I would be honored to spend time in the presence of such a..."

"Yeah, yeah. Pick me up in two hours." She rattled off Kagome's address and then hung up.

"Great. Now Miroku has my address..."

"You worried? I thought he was a really nice guy?"

"He is, but..."

"But nothing. I'm giving him a chance, you're going to do some emotional growing, and everyone is going to get their life back on track. Now. Will you help me get ready for my date? I probably need to borrow some clothes."

A/N: We broke a hundred reviews! Hooray! I hope this chapter makes you feel a little better than the last. Question: would you rather I switch back to Inuyasha's perspective next chapter as usual so you can see what's going on with stupidface and how he's dealing with Kagome's exit, oooooor would you like a special chapter from Sango's perspective as she goes on this date? Thoughts?


	20. Abandoned

Inuyasha felt immediately empty when Kagome left. For a few seconds, he couldn't even move. Then Maeko made a dash for the door and he had to snap out of it to stop her from escaping. He swooped her up and hugged her to his chest, but she quickly became hysterical, kicking and flailing around.

"Maeko, calm down."

"No!" She screamed. "Why is mommy leaving? Where is she going?"

In the second that Inuyasha hesitated, Kikyo stooped down to look Maeko in the eyes.

"That woman was a liar, sweetie. Your real mother is right in front of you."

"Get out," Inuyasha snarled, turning his body so that Maeko was slightly shielded from Kikyo's gaze. "Get out and don't come back. You lost your rights as a mother when you left us. Get. Out."

Kikyo straightened and crossed her arms. "Inuyasha, can't we talk about this rationally? I know I haven't been here, but I've had a change of heart. Have some compassion. Maybe I came off a little harsh, but that's because I have no experience with children. I want that experience now. Give me that chance. Please."

He hesitated again. For a second, her tone and pleading expression brought back flashbacks of a different time. A different vision of how his life would be. If he was honest with himself, he had imagined Kikyo coming back and saying something similar to what she had just said many times.

But not in years.

He shook his head. "No, Kikyo. I'm not saying no forever, but definitely no for right now. If you want to see Maeko, you need to call me before you show up out of the blue. You and I need to talk about it and Maeko and I need to talk about it and if all three of us agree that it's a good idea then we can plan something in advance. But you don't have the right to define the terms and you definitely don't have the right to drop in unannounced and intimidate my child into accepting you. So for now, let me repeat myself. Get out." He let the last two words become a snarl.

Kikyo's eyes widened. He'd never denied her a straight request before. Uncertainty flooded her features, then she straightened her back and self-consciously adjusted her purse.

"Alright," she said tersely. "I'll call you." She lingered for a moment more, as if hoping he would say that he was kidding, then she strode out the door and slammed it behind her.

Inuyasha relaxed, slowly lowering his daughter to the ground. As soon as her feet touched it, she shoved away from him, ran to her room and slammed her door, too.

Great. Now everyone was upset with him.

Inuyasha slumped glumly to the couch and fell onto it, face down. What was he going to do? How was he going to explain everything to Maeko? How was he going to keep her from hating him? And how was he going to convince Kagome to come back, this time in a real relationship? Now that he thought about it... how was he going to find her? He didn't even know her phone number or where she lived. He'd never needed those things. And he didn't know any of her friends to contact aside from Sango, but he'd never bothered to get her number or address either. It was clear to him now how much he had taken her presence and their time together for granted. Now that she wasn't here and their time was up, he felt hollow. The house felt empty and much too big. The silence that filled it was suffocating.

But one thing at a time. He had to put his daughter first. He'd figure out his love life later; right now there was a broken-hearted little girl in the other room that deserved an explanation.

It took Inuyasha a few attempts to get up from the couch. When he finally did, it took even longer to convince himself to take the few steps down the suddenly extremely intimidating hallway.

He should have an excellent opening line. 'That woman was crazy; forget everything she said'? No, more deception could only make it worse. 'That woman was telling the truth; I've been lying to you your whole life'? There must be a better way to put it. What about... 'How would you like a car?' Wait, she wasn't old enough to drive. A doll? Not big enough. A tree house? A life-sized replica of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory? What was the appropriate penance for a lifetime of falsehood?

Inuyasha knew that there wasn't one, and he also knew that he had to stop stalling. It was just hard.

He took a deep breath. Then he took a second deep breath, just to be sure he was really, thoroughly oxygenated, and walked resolutely to Maeko's door.

"Sweetie, can we talk?"

There was no answer.

He tried the knob and it was locked.

"Maeko?"

Silence.

"Please say something so that I know you're at least listening."

Still, he heard no noise. No shuffling, no sniffling, nothing.

His ears pounding with dread, Inuyasha raced out the front door and around the house. Maeko's window was open.

She was gone.

A/N: Hey guys. I wanted to explain a bit about why I haven't updated this story in a while. It was the very first one I ever started, so I didn't really know much about structure and pace and I bit off a lot more than I could chew. Basically, everything I mentioned about the gang? Forget it. I realize now that I was essentially trying to write two stories at once – the one I was actually telling and then a really long secret background story that wasn't necessary at all. So eventually I'm going to go back and strip all that out and reform it a little, but for now I'm going to try to finish this story without that business and then maybe someday in the future I'll use the elements I was thinking about in a new story that takes place in a gang. We'll see. Sorry to switch it up on you mid-story, but this has been a learning process for me. Bear with me. She's still got an ex-boyfriend, she's still best friends with Sango, she's just not in a gang. Got it? Great. Carry on.


	21. The Capture

Kagome nervously viewed the mansion in front of her. The first time she had seen it, she had attempted to memorize its every detail, hoping to form convincing fake memories associated with it. Now she had real ones. Somehow, in the short time she had been there, the house felt more like home to her than her own apartment did. That was why she was here. Sango was out on her date, and Kagome was going crazy alone. There was no need to wait until tomorrow to fulfill her end of the bargain.

Only… maybe there was. What if Kikyo was still there? What if Inuyasha didn't want to see her? What if Maeko hated her now? No. Those things didn't matter. She had promised Sango that she would do this, and she was a woman of her word. Before she changed her mind again, Kagome marched up to the front door and knocked.

Immediately, the door swung violently forward, revealing a flustered and frightened-looking Inuyasha. A myriad of emotions flitted over his face. First disappointment, but then a little bit of happiness and relief. Then… wariness? Then his face closed off from her completely.

"Maeko's missing," he said curtly. "I thought you might be her."

Kagome gasped. "Missing? What do you mean? How long has she been gone?"

"She ran away a little after you did," he replied, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Kagome looked at her watch and did some quick math. Then her head shot up. "Four hours ago!? Inuyasha, she could be anywhere!"

"You think I don't know that!?"

"Well, where have you looked?"

"Everywhere! Her school, the woods behind them, places she used to play…"

"Did you call Shippo? Her teachers?"

"No one knows anything."

Kagome thought quickly, her mind racing. "Ok. Well, first, do you have an idea of what her intentions were? Was she trying to get away from you, trying to chase after Kikyo… what?"

"She was probably trying to chase after you. She wouldn't believe that you weren't her mother, and she was really upset when you left. And she wasn't the only one," he mumbled.

Kagome's heart warmed. Maybe the situation wasn't as bad as she thought. Now wasn't the time to explore it, though.

"Ok, let's think about where she would try to find me, then. Somewhere she and I have gone together maybe? Oh! I know. Get the car."

Inuyasha wasted no time in dashing through the house towards the garage. Kagome took the liberty to close the front door for him, then dashed around to meet him. Within seconds, his Ferrari screeched out and she hopped in.

"Where am I going?"

"The ice cream shop on the corner of Main and Fifth."

Inuyasha didn't question her. He just pealed out of the driveway, blowing through stop signs and weaving recklessly. The wind whipped Kagome's hair out of her ponytail and stung her face, but it was only minutes before they slammed to a halt in front of their destination. Kagome unbuckled her seatbelt and vaulted the car door in one smooth motion, entering the air conditioned establishment and scanning it quickly. In the corner booth where they had last sat, a little girl huddled with her head in her hands. Inuyasha rushed in behind her and tried to pass her, but Kagome stopped him, shaking her head. Instead, she approached the counter and ordered a small cup of Peanut Butter Blast. When the gangly teenager behind the counter handed it over, she crossed the room and set it softly in front of Maeko.

"Let's talk," she said.

Maeko's tear-streaked face snapped up at her voice, and the child launched herself into her arms.

"Mommy!" she cried. "Everyone was saying lies. And I didn't want to hear them. So I came here because last time you said that we could come here and talk whenever I wanted. I want to now! Why did you leave me? I thought you wouldn't come back!"

Kagome slid into the booth with Maeko on her lap, rubbing soothing circles on the girl's back. "I'm sorry," she said. "But I do need to tell you something." She took a deep breath and made eye contact with Inuyasha, who was hovering nearby. He nodded, and Kagome turned back to Maeko. "As much as I love you, and as much of an honor as it would be to be your mommy… the truth is that I'm not."

Maeko's sobbing doubled. "Why is everyone lying?" she wailed.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie. But your real mommy is the woman you met today…"

"No! When she left she stopped being my real mommy! You're my real mommy now because I love you!"

Kagome stopped speaking, stunned. Had Inuyasha already told Maeko the circumstances? She looked to him again to confirm, but he seemed just as confused as she was. "…You know that she left you?"

"The first night you were here, you said it. You thought I was asleep, but I wasn't."

"Then… you know that she's your mommy, and that I'm not."

Maeko shook her head violently. "How can she be my mommy if she doesn't know anything about me? You're the one who read my letters. You're the one who came here for me when you thought I was getting hurt. You're the one I tell my secrets to and you're the one who snuggles me to sleep. And you're the one who knew how to find me here today. And…" she finished decisively, reaching for her ice cream and taking a big bite. "…you're the one who knows that I like Peanut Butter Blast." Her full mouth muffled the words a little, and a trail of ice cream slithered out of her giant grin to drip down her chin.

"It's true," Inuyasha interjected, wiping the drip with a napkin and ruffling Maeko's hair affectionately. "Kikyo would have had no idea how to find her today. Even I didn't know."

Kagome felt her eyes welling up with tears. While completely inaccurate, Maeko's understanding of what made a parent was touching and simple. Shouldn't the one that you love be the one that is your family? Again, she looked up at Inuyasha. His features were much more relaxed now, and he was smiling at her fondly. She felt her heart swell. Now that she thought about it, maybe Maeko wasn't so far off. She certainly had no intention of abandoning the girl now that she was in her life, no matter what happened with Inuyashsa. Kagome honestly didn't think she could walk away from Maeko as long as the child still wanted her near. So, for now…

"Ok, Maeko. I can be your mommy if you want me to be. But Kikyo is still your mother, and you and Inuyasha will have to talk about what that means a little more, ok?" Maeko nodded, and buried her head in Kagome's chest. She kissed her head happily, and naturally looked over to Inuyasha one last time. He was looking at her with such love in his eyes that it made her catch his breath. _This is my family_, Kagome thought. Now she just had to convince Inuyasha it was true. Hopefully he still felt the same about her, too…

A/N: Hi friends. If anyone is still reading this (I know it's been a while since I updated), the next chapter will likely be the last one. Then I plan to go through and rewrite a lot of it so that it makes sense. As explained in the last chapter, I bit off more than I could chew with this one, and now it's time to finish it. I'm sorry it didn't go on as long as originally planned, but I think everyone will be happy with the ending. As always, please review. Thanks, guys!


End file.
